My Life as a Trophy Wife
by JennaRay
Summary: Sometimes marriage can be more like a business agreement. Broke college student Bella and her best friend's Lawyer brother, Edward, have come up with just that. A business agreement to make life easier for them both. First comes marriage, then comes?
1. Broke

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Character names nor do I own Twilight or anything pertaining to it. **

**A/N at the bottom**

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**My Life as a Trophy Wife**

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When I was fifteen years old my Aunt paid me and my best friend at the time, Katie Kerman, to babysit my little cousins while she went to the mall to Christmas shop with my Mom. My cousins wanted to watch _The Little Mermaid_ and because Katie and I didn't have anything better to do, we joined them.

At the end of the movie, I was left thoroughly annoyed. I explained to Katie my frustrations with the storyline, but she disagreed. I for one couldn't understand how Ariel claimed to be in love with Prince Eric after only seeing him for two minutes. Not only that, but she also decided that she was ready to marry him after only knowing him for three days. The whole thing seemed idiotic to me. She didn't even know this man, and she was willing to put her soul on the line for him.

Katie told me I was the idiotic one. She said I was immature and wouldn't know romance if it hit me in the face. She insisted that once a girl found her soul mate, she would just know. She seemed decided that courtship or maybe even just a fucking first date were unnecessary for a happily ever after.

After six more years of dating experience, I believed now more than ever that Katie Kerman was very wrong. Long story short, I didn't question why the number of lesbians in this country was going up.

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm not a very optimistic person. But then again, I don't really have a reason to be. Life had dealt me a lot of lemons by this point and seemed to have forgotten to throw in the sugar for me to make lemonade with.

I hadn't lost enough hope to actually join the lesbian community, but I had pretty much lost all hope in men. My vibrator, Alejandro, was the only man that I could depend on.

My woes with the male species were only part of the cause for my pessimism. I was also pretty much broke and struggling through my hardest year of college yet. Due to my pathetic financial status, I was also enduring violation in the form of nightly ass groping by creepers at the bar that I worked at to make ends meet.

I should forewarn you before I start to tell you my story that I'm not a very pleasant person. While things aren't always rainbows and sunshine through my eyes, I do have an interesting tale to tell. And it's all thanks to a man named Edward Cullen.

So how did such a bitter, broke bitch end up as the sassiest, happiest, and well-fucked trophy wife in the fucking world?

Well, it all started with me being humiliated at my local grocery store.

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"Ew, seriously? Aren't celebrities supposed to have _stylists_? Why the fuck would someone with a stylist go out looking like that?"

I glanced up to see what Alice was talking about. She was holding a copy of the _National Enquirer _with an unflattering picture on the cover.

"It's Britney Spears, Alice. You can't expect her to abide by normal rules of society. She's a fucking nut job."

Alice Cullen was my best friend and we did absolutely _everything_ together…including our grocery shopping, which explains why we were currently in line at the grocery story unloading our groceries onto the belt. She shrugged and put the magazine back on the rack while I put a divider down between our grocery loads.

The cashier turned to me with a cheery smile while she started to scan my shit.

"Hi! How are you today?"

"Fine, thanks" I mumbled.

Cashiers at grocery stores really rub me the wrong way. They're too enthusiastic about their job and it annoys me how they act like they genuinely give a shit how my day is going. It also annoys me when they ask me if I found everything I needed. If I hadn't found everything I needed then I wouldn't be in your fucking line and on my way out of the fucking store.

Don't judge me for my ranting. My life kind of sucks right now and I'm bitter about it.

"Did you find everything you needed today?" She asked with the same chipper smile.

"Yup" I said, popping the 'P'.

I think she caught on to my bitchy mood, or more like personality, because we stood in silence for the remainder of the time it took her to ring up my order.

"Alright," she said when she'd finished. "That's gonna be fifty nine dollars and seventy six cents."

I sighed and fished my debit card out of my wallet. The price of food was going to be my demise.

I handed the cheery bitch my card and she took it with another happy smile.

I fumbled with my car keys impatiently while she swiped it. It seemed to be taking a long time.

"Um…" She started as she looked up at me with an apologetic expression.

Fuck. Not now. Please, _God_, not now…

"Your card has been declined."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, trying to think of what to do.

"Do you have another card I could try?"

"No." I said quickly.

I already knew that my credit card was maxed out.

"It's not a problem." Alice said, picking up the divider and putting it aside. "Just add it to my things, please." She said to the cashier.

"Alice, no, I don't want you paying for my groceries…"

"Shut up, Bella. Just let me get this and we'll forget all about the second we walk out of those doors." She said, gesturing to the sliding exit doors ahead of us.

"Alice, I'm not going to le – "

I was going to protest but she cut me off before I could finish.

"Well I'm not going to let you go without food so I don't want to hear about it."

I sighed, took my debit card back from the cashier, and put it away. I knew there was no point in fighting Alice, she wouldn't have it.

"Okay, but I _will_ pay you back Alice Cullen. As soon as I get my next paycheck…"

"If that will make you feel better" She said with a shrug.

I knew that Alice didn't need the money but it really _would_ make me feel better to pay her back.

Actually, saying that Alice didn't need the money was an understatement. From the surface you would never guess because she totally doesn't flaunt it, but Alice Cullen was so fucking rich I didn't even know why she was in school. She would never have to work a day in her life if she didn't want to.

Alice was the daughter of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. To be honest I wasn't sure where exactly their wealth came from, probably multiple revenues, but I did know that they had a lot of it. The whole family was well known in the Seattle area for their philanthropy and social status.

I was impressed that Alice hadn't let her wealth go to her head and I really respected her for it. She knew that she was set for life but she still had personal goals and ambitions. Never once had she made me feel inferior for not having the same privileged life as her.

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The next night after the Bella's-poor-and-can't-afford-her-groceries-incident, I accompanied Alice to her parent's house for dinner. Excuse me, I meant I accompanied Alice to her parents' _mansion_ for dinner.

Maybe mansion was a tad bit of an exaggeration, but house didn't cut it either.

The Cullen's had a big family dinner every other Sunday. I had been invited a few times now, but this was the first time I had actually accepted. Alice said that she really wanted me to go, so I gave in.

"Bella, dear! It's so nice to see you!" Esme said softly as she gave me a hug and kissed my cheek.

"Nice to see you too, Esme. Thanks for having me."

"Oh course…you know you're welcome here any time."

I walked with Alice and Esme from the entry way into the living room where Carlisle and Alice's older brother Emmett were sitting. They were on the couch and sipping on what looked like scotch. As soon as we entered the room they both rose to come greet Alice and I.

"Hey, Bells! How have you been?" Emmett asked as he pulled away after kissing my cheek.

Emmett was another one of those people who was always a little too perky, but it didn't annoy me like it did when the grocery store cashiers did it. Something about his enthusiasm just seemed more genuine.

He was a lot like Alice. He was rich as shit but you would never guess just from being around him.

"Where's Edward?" Alice asked. "I thought he was coming?"

Edward was Alice's other older brother and the Cullen that I knew the least. Unlike Alice and Emmet, he was flamboyant about his wealth and liked to flaunt his lifestyle. He was a prestigious lawyer and an investor in several small businesses throughout our area. I didn't particularly like him, but I didn't not like him. I was indifferent. I didn't really know him that well. I'd been around him countless times since I had known Alice but very rarely did I ever have a one on one conversation with him.

The first time I ever met Edward I remember thinking he was _insanely_ attractive. I had gone out with Alice's family to dinner to celebrate her eighteenth birthday and I certainly wasn't expecting her sexy older brother to come in and make all of my girly parts tingle. However, his rudeness kind of ruined it for me. He spent the whole time on his blackberry and barely contributed to the conversation. He was rude to our waiter and kept complaining about petty shit.

"Oh, he should be on his way. He said he got held up at the office." Esme informed us.

"That means another two hours." Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"Wanna make bets on how late he is this time?" Emmett asked with a smirk.

"Oh stop it, you two." Esme said. "I'm sure he'll be here like he said he would."

"Yeah…eventually" Alice huffed.

"Come sit down, Bella." Esme said, changing the subject. "How is school going?"

We all filed back into the sitting area where we sat done in various places. Alice, Emmett, and I were on the couch. Esme and Carlisle were in their own seats.

"School's alright. This year has been pretty tough but I knew that it would be."

"How many hours are you taking this semester?" Emmett asked.

"Fifteen" I answered.

"And you're still working?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, but only part time"

"Well you certainly are a hard worker, Bella." Carlisle said approvingly. "It takes a lot of drive for someone to take on such a full load of school _and_ work. That's very impressive." He added with a smile.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

_Impressive isn't quite the word I would use to describe me while sitting in your fucking mansion, Mr. Cullen._

We chatted casually for a while until it was announced that dinner was ready. We all took our places around the long table in the fancy dining room while we were served by Carmella, the Cullen's live-in housekeeper.

I was a little intimidated. I didn't know how to react to the proper and elaborate table settings and I couldn't quite figure out why I had two forks.

Esme kept assuring us that Edward would be there any minute, but apparently he had more important things to do because he didn't show up until we were half way through eating.

"Nice of you to join us, son" Carlisle said curtly as Edward sat down.

"Thank you, Carmella." Edward mumbled as the housekeeper sat Edward's plate down in front of him.

"Of course, Mr. Cullen" She said with a smile before returning to the kitchen.

"Sorry, I'm late. I got held up with a client." He apologized, although he didn't sound at all remorseful for his tardiness.

We proceeded through dinner with small talk and true to form, Edward was on his blackberry the whole time. By the time we were finished I had to excuse myself to the back patio for a cigarette. I enjoyed the Cullens but sometime everything in their house was just too proper and formal for me. I needed some fresh air and I also needed to talk to my dad.

I made my way outside and sat down on one of the patio chairs, pulling out my cigarettes and my cell phone. I lit up and dialed my dad's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey dad, it's me." I said as I took a drag.

"Hey, Bells. What's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm over at the Cullen house with Alice."

"Oh, that's nice." He said approvingly. My dad loved Alice. "Why are you calling then from over there? Is something wrong?"

I sighed and took a long drag before answering.

"Nothing drastic, but I need to ask you a favor."

"What's that?" He asked, sounding confused.

"Well, my debit card got declined at the grocery store yesterdday and that was literally the last of my money. I don't get paid until Thursday."

I heard the back door open behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Edward coming outside while shoving a cigarette into his mouth. I forgot that he smoked. He was the only Cullen who did.

"So you're calling to ask for money, then?" My dad asked, pulling my attention back to my phone call.

I turned back around to face forward and ignored Edward's presence as he sat down in one of the other patio chairs.

"If you could just wire me some I promise to pay you back when I get paid."

I heard him sigh on the other end and that made me tense in anticipation. That was probably a no.

"I don't know, Bella. I'll see what I can do. I might be able to give you a little something but I'm running pretty dry over here myself."

"Well, anything would help dad. And I would really appreciate it."

"Yeah, I know. Listen, let me see what I've got and I'll call you back okay?"

"Okay."

"And why don't you try giving your mom a call?"

"You know just as well as I do that mom has no money to give me."

"Yeah, I know." He huffed. "I just wish she would help you out a little more."

"Yeah, me too. But it's not because she doesn't want to…she just doesn't have the money."

"Alright, well, I'll call you back in a little bit…"

"Okay, thanks dad."

By the time I hung up with my dad I was already almost done with my cigarette so as soon as I put it out I lit up another one. I wouldn't normally consider myself a chain smoker, but this was a special circumstance. I was stressed as fuck.

"Money problems?" Edward's smooth voice asked from somewhere to my right.

I looked over at him as I took a long drag. I had been too stressed while talking to my dad to care if Edward was listening but now that I was looking at him I realized that I had just had a pretty embarrassing conversation in front of him.

_Yes Edward, your sister's poor and chain-smoking best friend can't afford her fucking groceries._

"Uh, yeah," I mumbled. "Things are just kind of tight right now and I was sick last week so I missed a bunch of work and I'm kind of behind on my bills."

I don't know why I felt the need to justify my financial turmoil to him, but I did.

"You could ask my parents for a loan, they adore you."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "That's humiliating. I hate asking people for help, even my dad. I wouldn't have called him if I didn't have a sixty five dollar electric bill that's two days overdue."

He nodded his understanding to me as he exhaled his smoke through his nose.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bitching to you about my problems."

"It's alright. Everybody needs somebody to bitch to."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments until Edward spoke again.

"You really shouldn't be smoking, you know. It's bad for you."

I raised my eyebrows at him and gestured to the cigarette in his hand.

"Doesn't that make you a hypocrite, Mr. Cullen?"

He shrugged and took a long drag. He paused and exhaled through his nose before bothering to answer me.

"This won't be the first thing to kill me. If it is, I'll consider myself lucky."

"Well that's not a very good way of looking at things."

"You don't think so? Hmm…I consider it optimism."

"Sounds more like pessimism to me."

"Maybe to you," He said with another shrug. "But sometimes short, rash occurrences and experiences can have a greater impact than one could ever dream of. I would rather live a happy and full, short life than a long and miserable one. I prefer to live in the moment."

He raised his cigarette as if making a toast and then lowered it to his lips again.

"Maybe I do too."

"I don't think so." He said as he put his cigarette out in the ash try on the end table.

He stood up and started walking inside, leaving me to think that he was ending the conversation, until he called back to me over his shoulder.

"If you were living a happy and full life, Isabella, you would have a way to pay your electric bill."

And with that he walked back into the house, closing the door behind him.

I didn't know whether to be more confused or offended by his last statement, but I was leaning toward offended.

Poor people could be happy, right?

_You're poor. And are you happy? No. Case and point served by hot shot lawyer Edward Cullen himself._

I told my more rational inner self to cut the monologue short, and I headed back inside.

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Alice and I both had early classes the next day so we didn't stay over very late. Esme had Carmella put on a pot of coffee and then we all sat around in the formal living room sipping it. While the Cullens discussed things like current events and foreign affairs, I just sat there. My immature, stressed out, and low-class mind was seemingly just not on the same wave-length as theirs.

Once we were done with the coffee Alice and I gathered up our stuff and announced our departure. The only person who had left earlier than us was Edward. Apparently he didn't feel the need to arrive on time _or_ stay long enough to even have a proper conversation with his parents.

"Bella, dear, you _are_ coming to the party next weekend right?" Esme asked me as we stood at the front door to bid our farewells.

_Geez, Bella…'bid our farewells'? You've spent too much time tonight in the fancy Cullen mansion. Back to our trashy apartment it is for you._

"Yeah, I will definitely be there." I promised.

Next week was Esme and Carlisle's anniversary party and since they had informed me about it a long time ago, I was kind of obligated to go.

"Great, I'm looking forward to seeing you there then."

"Me too, good night" I answered.

"You girls drive safely." Carlisle said before giving Alice and I each a kiss on the cheek.

As soon as we were outside and the Cullens were back inside with the door closed behind them, I dug around in my bag until I found my pack of cigarettes. I opened it up and internally gasped.

There, rolled up and placed in line with all the cigarettes, was a crisp one hundred dollar bill.

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**A/N:**

**Although I am currently working on another story that I adore, this storyline just wouldn't leave me alone. I always have random plots that pop into my head…but this one in particular just would not go away.**

**So…I decided to write out chapter one, post it, and see if anyone was interested in it. If I have enough people say "Hey bitch, sounds good, I wanna read it"…then I will continue writing it :)**

**So if you would like to see "My Life as a Trophy Wife" Become a legit, lengthy, awesome JennaRay story…LET ME KNOW! It's all up to you guys…**

**Hope to here from some of my usual followers :)**

**Jenna**


	2. To Independence And Emotional Solitude

**A/N: disclaimer: I do not own anything involving or related to **_**Twilight**_

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I swear it was fucking looking at me…_mocking_ me.

I approached slowly, trying to stay calm and keep my heart from bursting out of my chest. I lifted my foot up a little and then reached down removed my sandal. I took a few more steps into the kitchen and then paused, trying to decide which angle to stage my attack from.

I lifted my arm slowly, ready to ambush the little bastard. It, however, jumped me first. It started scurrying towards me across the linoleum. I, not prepared for this move, screamed like a little bitch and jumped onto my kitchen table. I was surprised with my ability jump up onto it so gracefully and land so solidly. I was like a fucking gazelle. Apparently the adrenaline that you get from an attack like the one I was currently under gave you a brand new finesse that you never knew you possessed.

What's the worst thing about living alone in the ghetto? Cockroaches.

I probably could have saved money on rent if I didn't live by myself, but I was far too much of an unpleasant person to have roommates. I may be a bitch, but I would still feel bad when I made someone miserable in their own home with my bad attitude.

The cockroach stopped suddenly. I eyed it carefully as it plotted its next move. All of the sudden the little monster turned around and started scurrying off in the other direction, away from me. Determined not to let the little bitch get away from me and go lay eggs in my walls, I lunged off of the table in one of those gazelle moves again and hurled my shoe at it. Luck was on my side as far as aim goes because I squished the little shit with a satisfying crunch.

After cleaning up the mess of the repulsive dead bug, I washed my hands and made my way into my bedroom. It didn't take that long considering my bedroom was only ten feet away from the shitty ass kitchen in my shitty ass apartment.

I went over to my closet to take out the dress that I would be wearing that evening to Esme and Carlisle's anniversary party. It wasn't a hard decision to make when it came to what I was going to wear. It may have been more complicated if I'd had options, but I didn't. I only owned one dress that was nice enough to wear to such a high-class party. So high-class, in fact, that their house apparently wasn't a nice enough place to throw it. Carlisle's brother, Marcus, was hosting the party at a hotel that he owned a huge share off. Apparently Carlisle wasn't the only wealthy Cullen son.

I was supposed to leave for Alice's apartment in twenty minutes and I hadn't even started to get ready. I guess I spent too much time in battle with the cockroach.

_Story of my life. _

Alice was taking a date to the party. She had invited a guy named Jasper that she had been casually dating for a couple months now. Me, on the other hand, hadn't dated anyone in a while and therefore was flying solo.

Yeah, I'd pretty much written off males all together, remember? I briefly considered taking my vibrator Alejandro, since he was the only man in my life, but that seemed a little inappropriate.

Because I had no date, I was going to get to be the third wheel. I was meeting Alice and Jasper at her fancy apartment where a car was supposed to pick us all up and drive us to the hotel where we would meet the rest of her family.

I hurried around my bathroom, quickly applying some makeup and curling my hair. I rubbed some lotion into my arms and the part of me legs that would be exposed and then topped myself off with a squirt of perfume. By the time I put on my midnight blue dress, I was already running late.

I slid on my silver heels, grabbed my clutch, and then practically ran down to my car where I quickly discovered that driving in heels was kind of difficult. Especially for someone who never wore heels.

When I got to Alice's the black town car was already there and her and Jasper were outside waiting for me.

"Sorry I'm late!" I said to Alice as I got out of my car. "I got held up with an unexpected visitor."

"Your period?"

"No, but equally as repulsive. There was a massive cockroach plotting to ambush me in my kitchen."

"Eww!" Alice squealed.

"Bella, I highly doubt the cockroach was plotting to ambush you." Jasper said, laughing.

"You didn't see the look in his eyes."

"Let's get going, we're gonna be late." Alice said.

Alice brushed up on the directions with the driver and then we all got into the back of the car, Alice in the middle.

"You look great, Bella." Alice said, looking over my outfit.

"Thanks. You look good too. Whichever fancy designer you're wearing is really becoming on you."

"Thank you!" She said happily.

When we arrived at the hotel there were people everywhere just for Carlisle and Esme's party. I wondered how it was even possible that they knew so many people. I felt totally out of my element. Everyone seemed so poised and proper. When we walked in Alice ushered Jasper and I through the lobby quickly, saying that the party was in the grand ballroom.

_Grand ballroom? What is this? Fucking Cinderella?_

When we got into the fancy ballroom there were people dancing, people chatting, people sipping on champagne, and people snacking on shrimp cocktail. There were even guys in tuxedos walking around with glasses of champagne on platters like you see in movies. I hoped that they all spoke with British accents. It seemed fitting.

"Oh, there's my great Aunt Ethel!" Alice said as we all three looked around the room. "Come on guys, I have to introduce Jasper."

"Um, wait a second." I said, causing them both to stop and turn to me. "Can those of us who have already met great Aunt Ethel, and by those of us I mean me, be excused from going over there? I feel like she's had something against me ever since I accidently locked her cat in the bathroom at your house, Alice. I'd like to avoid her if at all possible."

Okay, so I'm a liar. Although that really did happen, great Aunt Ethel's cat wasn't actually my reasoning for not wanting to go talk to her with Alice and Jasper. I didn't give a shit about her cat. My first reason for not wanting to be around her was because Great Aunt Ethel smelled like cottage cheese and hairspray. Yes, even families as prestigious as the Cullen's always have that weird ass smelly Aunt. My second reason was because I needed to go find someone…Alice's brother.

"Yeah, you don't have to come with us. But where are you going to go? You don't know anyone else here, do you?"

"Uh…I'm gonna go to the bathroom and then I'll go find Emmett or something."

"Oh, okay. I've got my phone so you can text me if you can't find me when you're done."

"Okay. Give Aunt Ethel a big hug for me."

Alice laughed as she rolled her eyes and took Jasper's hand to lead him off into a crowd of people. Once they were out of sight, I started my hunt around the room. I decided a good way to start would be just to circle around the perimeter of the room. I stopped momentarily when one of the dudes in tuxedos came up and offered me a glass of champagne. Of course I accepted because I never turn down alcohol, but I was disappointed when I discovered that he wasn't British.

I made it about half way around Cinderella's ballroom before I spotted Edward. Conveniently for me, he was just standing in a corner chatting with Emmett. Maybe it wouldn't be too awkward for me to approach him after all. I sauntered over to where they were standing; sipping on my champagne like I actually belonged there.

"Hey, Bella!" Emmett said in his usual happy and loud voice.

"Hello, hello. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just trying to see if there are any females here under forty that I'm actually _not_ related to."

"Ah. I see. Creeping around at your parents' anniversary party…classy."

"Yeah, well, you know me."

I took another sip of my champagne and then glanced over at Edward. He was looking at me but his eyes were shifted down a little, not looking at my face. Speaking of faces, his had a curious expression on it. When his eyes moved further down and then back up, I realized what was going on.

_Was Edward Cullen, the king of pretentiousness, checking me out? _

I may have voluntarily been sitting out of the dating game for a while, but I knew when I was being checked out.

"Um, hi Edward" I said, effectively drawing his attention and eyes back up to my face.

"Hello. It's nice to see you again."

He took a sip of champagne as he, brace yourself, proceeded to look my body up and down _again._ This time it was quicker and with less of a weird look on his face, but I couldn't believe he was doing it again. This guy had no shame…and I kind of liked it. He was bold, much like me. What he didn't know was that Alejandro and I were in an exclusive relationship and that checking me out would get him nowhere. I wasn't his type anyway. I was a poor college kid with an attitude problem, not a ditzy blonde socialite.

"Uh, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" I asked, remembering why I had sought him out.

"Sure. I was just about to step outside, would you like to join me?"

"Okay." I turned to Emmett who was looking at me curiously but didn't say anything about my request to speak to his brother. "I'll talk to you later Emmett."

"You better. This is going to be one boring party."

"I promise." I said, laughing. "I'll come find you later."

"Alright, I'm counting on it." He said before walking away.

I turned back to Edward who gestured for me to lead the way outside. I made my way to a set of French doors and pulled one of them open. I was expecting the outside area to be a concrete patio or something, so I was surprised to find that it was actually a tiny cobblestone patio surrounded by a really pretty garden. There were twinkling lights that kind of resembled Christmas lights hung up from the wooden awning above us. I stepped outside and looked around, momentarily mesmerized by all of the gorgeous flowers and stone pathways that led through them. Maybe the ballroom we were in really _was_ Cinderella's…because this garden was something from a fairytale. Even my Debbie downer type self could recognize how gorgeous it was. Although there were no dudes in tuxedos outside, there was a long table set up with champagne and various cocktail foods.

"Wow…this is like, really pretty." I said as Edward closed the door behind us.

"Yeah, it's nice." He said, sounding unimpressed. I guess he was used to this kind of thing.

"I wonder why nobody else is out here." I said, noticing that we were alone.

"I don't know." He said, shrugging. "They probably don't realize this is even out here."

"Yeah…I guess not."

"So, why are you out here with me and not inside with my sister?"

"Oh, uh…she went to go introduce Jasper to your great Aunt Ethel. I'm not exactly Ethel's biggest fan."

"Oh, Lord. Me neither. I've only by the grace of God been able to avoid her since I got here."

"Well dear Aunt Ethel isn't the only reason I'm out here with you."

"No?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at me curiously.

"Did you put the hundred dollars in my cigarettes?" I asked, deciding it was best to just get to the point.

He chuckled softly as he took a sip of champagne and went to sit down on a bench.

"You sound so accusatory."

"Just answer the question." I said, sighing.

"Hmm. Maybe. I don't recall."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you make a habit of putting hundred dollar bills in stranger's cigarettes?"

"You're not a stranger, Isabella."

"Yes I am. Just because I know your family doesn't mean I know you. And from what I've witnessed it doesn't seem like even _they_ know you."

He laughed again and leaned back on the bench, putting one arm up across the back of it.

"You're quiet the little spitfire, you know that?"

"Don't try to change the subject."

"Yes, I put the one hundred dollars in your box of cigarettes."

"Well…thank you." I said a little hesitantly. I was one stubborn bitch. 'Thank you' and 'I'm sorry' were not easy things for me to say.

"You're welcome." He said with a nod.

"That hundred dollar bill was more helpful than you probably realize. Thanks to you, I didn't get my electricity shut off. But I got paid on Thursday, so I brought a check so I can pay you back." I said as I opened up my clutch to find the check I brought.

"I don't want your money, Isabella."

It sounded weird every time he called me Isabella. Nobody called me that.

"Well I don't like taking charity from people, so I'm paying you back."

"It wasn't charity. It was a gift from a friend."

"I'm not your friend, Edward. I'm your _sister's_ friend. You don't even know me."

He didn't even know me well enough to know that I go by Bella because I hate the name Isabella.

"I think I may know you better than you think I do. You may not realize it, but I think you and I are a lot alike."

_Way to sound like a creeper, Cullen. 'I think I may know you better than you think I do'…that sounds like something a serial killer would say before killing me and saving my skin as a trophy._

"You and I are nothing alike, Edward." I took the check out of my clutch and extended it towards him in my hand as I walked over to him. "Here" I said, hoping he would just take it. Instead, he just looked up at me.

"I'll take it if that will make you feel better, but don't expect me to deposit it."

"Ugh! Why do you have to be so pretentious?" I asked, exasperated.

"If you really want to repay me you can sit down, have a cigarette, and chat with me out here so I can avoid going inside and risk running in to Aunt Ethel."

"Chat?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, chat."

"What on earth do me and you have to chat about?"

"Like I said, you and I are more alike than you think."

"Give me one thing that we have in common and I'll sit down with you."

He answered me immediately without even thinking about it.

"We're both independent. We're both so independent to the point that it's not a good thing."

"How is independence not a good thing?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you."

"Hold on. I need a little more alcohol in my blood."

"Alright" He said, laughing.

I threw back what was left in my champagne glass and then went over to the table where bottles of champagne were set in buckets of ice. I popped one of them open, refilled my glass, and then put the bottle back and went back over to Edward. I set myself down on the bench next to him and turned to face him.

"Okay, go." I said.

"Go where?" He asked, looking confused.

"Go as in start talking. You were about to tell me why our independence is such a bad thing."

"Oh. Well you're so independent that you have issues taking help from people."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is. Why else would you have such determination not to accept my hundred dollars without paying me back?"

"Because like I said, you don't know me. It wasn't about a friend helping out another friend, it was charity. And I am not a charity case."

"Nobody said you were. And I don't think it would matter to you where the money came from. You even said yourself last week at my parents' house that you hate asking your father for help. He's close to you, and you don't like taking his money either."

"The fact that I don't like taking money from people isn't a bad thing."

"No, it's not. But you should be able to take help when you need it."

"Fine. I guess I _sort of_ see your point, even though I don't agree with you. But what's your problem? You said we're both too independent."

"Right. My problem is that I'm so independent I don't need anyone. I don't let anyone get close to me because I just don't feel the need."

"So? I don't have a problem being alone either."

"See? Just another thing we have in common."

"But what's wrong with being alone if it doesn't bother you? Just because society says that you have to have people in your life doesn't mean that everyone is that way."

"I suppose. But perhaps it would make my life easier if I had the desire to form meaningful relationships."

"Why would that make your life easier?"

He put his glass down momentarily to take his cigarettes out of his pocket and light one up. He didn't answer my question until after he took his first drag.

"Well, for example, it would certainly take some pressure off of me to find a woman to settle down with. But I just have no desire to date. I don't feel capable of an emotional commitment, nor do I want one from anyone else."

"Well join the club, bud. I don't date either. I'm perfectly fine being alone. In fact, I prefer it. I guess that's part of my stubborn independence."

"So you can honestly say that you would be content alone for the rest of your life? That you don't need a partner to depend on?"

"I don't need to depend on anyone. I'm no Cinderella waiting around for my prince charming. I can stand on my own two feet. I can rescue myself from the dragon guarding my tower."

"I take it you're not a fan of fairytales, then?" He asked, taking a sip of his champagne.

"No, I'm not. They were clearly written by chauvinistic men."

"I like that you're not a damsel in distress. Women use their sex as a cope out."

"I agree. They do. I, as a woman, am just as capable of anything a man can do. More, actually."

"So you don't date at all?"

"I don't even know the last time I went on a date."

"And that doesn't bother you at all?"

"Not in the least. It's a conscious decision. I could date if I want, I just don't feel the 'desire to do so' as you put it."

"Well you and I are two needles in a haystack then. Two very alike needles."

"We're still not alike. You view your independence as a hindrance. I view mine as liberating."

"I don't view it as a hindrance in a personal regard. More so for convenience. For example, it would be nice to get my mother off of my back."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm thirty two years old. She reminds me at least once a week that I no longer fit the part of a 'young and successful bachelor' anymore. She insists that it's time I settle down."

By this time my champagne glass was empty again. I noticed that Edward's was as well. I got up and went to go refill my glass but instead decided to just grab the bottle and take it back over to the bench with me. I refilled my glass and then lifted the champagne bottle in an offer to refill Edward's. He nodded so I filled it and then set the bottle down between us.

"Why does it make a difference if you settle down or not? Having a woman on your arm doesn't affect your success."

"On the contrary, I suppose it would in some ways."

"How so?"

"It would make me more marketable." He said before taking a particularly long drag on his cigarette.

"How so?" I repeated.

"Well, for one, virtually everyone in my social circle is married."

"But that's your social circle. What does that have to do with marketability?"

"I told you, Isabella, that I do not engage in meaningful relationships. That includes friendships. I do not invest my time into the social scene that I do for my own enjoyment or entertainment. It has everything to do with business. Everything I do in some way or another has to do with business."

"You're a lawyer, Edward. What does your social life have to do with your work?"

"Well, the obvious and first answer to your question is that I establish contacts through friendships. I build clientele through friendships and notoriety through referrals."

"So what's the less obvious answer?"

"The less obvious and second answer to your question is that, not to be ostentatious, but I am a very wealthy man. I have not built my estate on practicing law alone. I have an eye for a good investment in a business or product. And the way that I meet the people who need investors is through the contacts I establish in my social network. Every dinner party, cocktail party, holiday party, or game of golf is just another business venture."

"Hmm. I see. So you think that finding a woman to settle down with would make you more marketable to your friends in a business way?"

"In some ways, yes. In some ways it's just a matter of convenience. Nobody wants to be the only single man at a dinner party for couples. And, likewise, nobody wants to throw a dinner party for couples and invite a single man. And besides, you're not the only driven woman in this world. Sometimes I have to try and work out business deals with female associates. Sometimes I think that having a woman in my life would help me reach out to those connections in a more effective manner. And if I _did_ settle down, I feel it would make me more relatable. In our society a married man seems to be viewed as more significant in a friendly sense. Maybe I would be more approachable to those who are more family-oriented."

I took a lingering sip of my champagne as I thought that over.

"So what about you, then? _You_ don't date at all?"

"Not at all. I do take some select women out to dinner occasionally, but only when I know they will fulfill my inclination for some…bedroom company, so to speak."

So Edward took out some sluts occasionally when he wanted to get laid. Thankfully, I didn't have to go out with guys for that purpose. When I had an itch I couldn't scratch, I could always depend on Alejandro.

"Ah, I see. Why buy the whole cow when you can just get the milk for free, huh?"

"Exactly"

_Yeah, well, the whole cow isn't worth seven ounces of meat either._

"So you don't _actually_ not mind being alone then like me. I literally have no problem not dating anyone. But you seem to think that having a woman in your life would benefit you in one way or another. So why not date?"

He put his cigarette out and then took a sip of champagne before answering.

"Being in a relationship with a woman would certainly have its benefits in some aspects. But like I said, I have no desire in a personal aspect. I have no patience to try to romance a woman if my heart is not in the right place. How can I be expected to contribute emotionally to a relationship if emotions aren't the reason for being in it?"

"Good point." I said with a nod. "Well I guess you're stuck between a rock and hard place, then. I can see why a relationship would be convenient for you, but like you said…you'll never make one work if it's not what you _really_ want."

"Exactly. While I can recognize the draw of a relationship, I don't think it's fit for me. I'm far too much of a recluse. I'm not just independent in my lifestyle. I'm independent in my emotions. I don't need anyone to lean on and I don't need to share my feelings. I doubt anyone could ever feel a true romantic connection to me, because I don't need to connect to anyone."

"You seem to be sharing your feelings now."

"Well I suppose I see a lot of myself in you. You're young and struggling, but you seem to be a fighter. And I don't think this qualifies as sharing feelings. I'm simply explaining the reason to you that, although a significant other would suit my lifestyle, I rather enjoy living in solitude."

"I guess you're right. We're not really talking about feelings, it just seems that way because I didn't know anything about your personal life until tonight."

"Well, now you know what I mean by both us being inconveniently independent."

"Do you think you'll be alone forever?"

"Most likely. I don't envision myself ever falling in love. While I do believe it exists, like my parents for example, I don't think it's for everyone. Love is about merging two lives and hearts together. I'm far too selfish for love. I have no interest in truly sharing myself with anyone." He paused and took a sip of champagne. "I suppose that sounds rather disheartening."

"No, it doesn't. I'm the same way you are, remember? There's nothing wrong with being fine on your own. I agree with you, relationships aren't for everyone. If love and commitment aren't where your priorities lie, then so be it. Isn't it better to be alone than to try and force something that will probably make you miserable in the long run?"

He smiled and picked up the bottle of champagne to refill our now almost empty glasses.

"I think that deserves a toast." He said as he lifted his glass.

"Indeed it does." I said, raising mine as well.

"A toast to embracing independence and emotional solitude"

"To independence and emotional solitude" I repeated.

We rose our glasses towards each other and then both took a small sip.

"So now you do see what I meant when I said we're more alike than you realize?" He asked.

"In some ways we are alike…except for the fact that you're disgustingly rich. That's where _my_ problems come from. That ugly green paper called money. We both may be independent, but that's not what causes me issues. So yes we are alike, but not in our problems." I paused and took another sip. "…but don't get any ideas just because I'm bitching about money. I'm being totally serious when I say I will _not_ accept another 'Bella's poor and I feel bad for her' charity donation."

He laughed softly and took a sip.

"Well, Isabella, life is about opportunity. Like I said, you remind me of myself when I was in school. You seem like the type of person who will be able to recognize a good opportunity when it comes your way."

I laughed and put my glass down to dig my cigarettes and lighter out of my clutch.

"Life doesn't give Bella Swan opportunity. Life only gives me obstacles."

"That can't be _completely_ true." He said as I lit up my cigarette.

"No, really. It is…trust me. My life is only full of road blocks."

"Maybe you're just going through a dry spell of luck."

"Twenty one years seems like a little bit more than a dry spell if you ask me."

"You can't honestly tell me that opportunity never comes your way."

"Well if it does its way over-shadowed by obstacle."

"So what's your current obstacle to get through? Just money in general?"

"Yeah, I guess. But along with something general there always comes specifics."

"For example?" He asked, taking another sip.

I took a drag before answering.

"For example, since money has become a major issue, I dropped half of my classes this week so that I could start working full time. But since I'm not a full time student anymore, I can't be insured on my Dad's insurance plan. So basically, pray for me that I don't need to visit the doctor any time soon."

I lifted my glass to take a sip of champagne and as I did I could feel his eyes on me. I took a long, lingering sip and when I pulled my glass away I could still feel his eyes on me. I turned my head towards him and I was a little surprised by what I saw. I expected him to be looking at me with pity and sympathy, but he wasn't. His face seemed thoughtful and his eyes seemed calculating. All of the sudden, the atmosphere felt heavy. Where was my sarcasm and wit?

Now, let's take a time out for a moment. Please don't mistake this for us having a 'moment', because we weren't. This wasn't a moment like in _Pocahontas_ where she and John Smith realize that even though they come from two different worlds, their souls are connected my fate. Speaking of _Pocahontas_, can someone please explain to me how the Europeans land on some unknown land and somehow the Indians miraculously speak their language? Why aren't Pocahontas and her people speaking some language they don't understand? Yeah, I call bullshit on Disney.

No, our moment wasn't like that all. It was simply just a moment where I was wondering why he was looking at me like a scheming criminal and trying to decide if refilling my glass of champagne _again_ would make me an alcoholic. Edward and I may come from different worlds, but that's just about all we had in common with Pocahontas and John Smith. Well, except for the fact that we all miraculously spoke English.

Although I had learned more about Edward that night than I ever had in the years of friendship I had shared with his little sister, I didn't have some life changing change of heart in my opinion of him. I still kind of thought he was a prick. Now, I just knew he was a lonely prick.

Edward finally, after a few uncomfortable moments, opened his mouth to say something. But before he could, Alice came poking her head outside and looking around.

"There you are!" she said, coming out and pulling Jasper with her. "What are you doing out here?" She asked, looking from me to Edward. "…with my brother."

"Uh…we were just out here trying to insure we wouldn't be spotted by Aunt Ethel." I said, standing up. "But I should probably go inside and wish your parents a happy anniversary."

I turned to Edward briefly, wondering if he would come inside with us. When he reached into his cigarette box for another smoke, I got my answer.

"Well, let's go inside and find my parents." Alice said before turning to her brother. "I suppose _you're_ going to sit out here by yourself and brood in your anti-social misery."

"Yes, my darling little sister. I think that's exactly what I'll do. Give my apologies to our annoyingly intrusive relatives, will you?"

"Sure thing" She mumbled as she grabbed my arm and led more towards the door.

As we walked inside I glanced one more time back at Edward over my shoulder. He was taking a drag from his cigarette and had that same eerie, calculating look.

_So the oldest Cullen child wasn't just a pretentious recluse…he was a weirdo._

"What were you doing talking to my lame brother?" Alice asked as we walked back into Cinderella's ballroom.

_Okay, I clearly have a problem with relating things to Disney movies. Sue me. No, sue them. Somebody should. Somebody should sue them for planting the idea in little kids' heads that every girl has a prince and everybody has a happy ending._

"I don't know." I said with a shrug. "We just both ended up outside."

"I see. Well, I need to visit the little girl's room before we go talk to my parents."

"Okay."

"Yeah, I need to make a trip to the bathroom myself." Jasper said.

We all three headed across the massive room until we made it to the bathroom. Alice skipped off to the women's bathroom and Jasper went into the men's. I didn't have to go, so I sat myself down in one of the chairs that were in a row against the wall. Only a moment later, I noticed my worst nightmare walking towards me with a huge smile on his face…

Mike Newton.

Mike Newton was the most obnoxious man I had ever laid eyes on.

He was a family friend of the Cullen's. His mother had been good friends with Esme for years. From the time we first met, he had continuously delivered me cheesy pick up line after cheesy pick up line. He had asked Alice numerous times to try and set him up a date with me, and each time I declined. He knew absolutely nothing about me, but he was relentless in his pursuit. I first had tried to be polite about rejecting him, but after a while it became clear that I was going to have to be stern with this character. And by stern, I mean brutal.

I rolled my eyes, preparing myself to deflect the come on that was no doubt headed my way.

"Is this seat free?" he asked, gesturing to the chair next to me.

"Yes. And if you sit down in it this one will be too."

He ignored me and sat down without that stupid grin even faltering in the slightest.

"Esme said you would be here. I've been looking for you all evening. Where have you been?"

"Hiding from you" I said, taking a sip of champagne and not even bothering to look over at him.

He laughed as if I had told a good joke.

"I love that feisty personality of yours."

"I really don't care."

"So," He said, leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of his drink. "My birthday is coming up in a couple months. I'm a cancer. What's your sign?"

"Do not enter."

He waited a moment as if he thought I were going to laugh and then say I was joking and give him a real answer. I sighed and then he asked me another stupid question.

"So what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a female impersonator."

"A what?" He asked, sounding confused.

I took a sip and then looked over at him for the first time since he sat down.

"A female impersonator. I tuck my dick in, slap on some make up, and dress like a woman. The tits and the long shiny hair are due to all of the hormone shots I inject myself with."

If that didn't get him to leave me alone, I decided, then nothing would.

"Look, Bella. I think it's cute that you're sarcastic and all, but I want to say this to you…completely serious."

"What, Mike? What is it that you could possibly have to say to me that is so important and serious? You don't even know me."

"But I want to know you. You are so cute and funny and you're body is a beautiful temple…"

"Sorry. This temple is closed. No more services."

"Bella, for just one date with you…I would go to the end of the world."

I chugged back the rest of what was in my glass and sighed, exasperated.

"But would you _stay_ there?"

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**A/N:**

**Oh my goodness you guys! 86 reviews for the first chapter! That's amazing! I am so glad that so many of you were interested in reading more of this little idea of mine. I already have the whole outline of this story planned and I'm pretty excited about it.**

**Since the first chapter got 86 reviews, I KNOW the second chapter can get just as many if not more. **

**The next story I update will (probably be) NJAAA II**

**I'm considering setting aside a specific day once a week to update this story (mostly to remind myself not to neglect it for LHOP) but I don't know. We'll see. The next update will (probably) be this upcoming weekend.**

**A big big big hug and thank you to **_**GinaJas**_** who will be beta-ing this story for me. She is a big sweetheart…**

**Thank you to everyone who came back to read more of Bella's story!**

**Jenna**

**P.S. I just got a twitter account a few days ago! Follow me (at) JennaRayFF**


	3. The Proposal

**A/N: I do not own any Character names nor do I own **_**Twilight**_** or anything pertaining to it.**

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"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Miss Bella Swan?"

"Uh…yeah. Who is this?"

"I have Mr. Edward Cullen on the line for you."

"Um, okay?"

"Please hold."

And then with a light click, I was sitting there on my bed listening to elevator music over my cell phone. What the fuck just happened? Had Edward seriously had his secretary call me…and then put me on _hold_?

No. All kinds of fucking no.

I pressed the end button on my phone and then tossed it down on my bed and went back to reading the assigned chapter from my economics text book. I had about six minutes of peace and quiet until my phone starting ringing again.

"Hello?"

"Isabella." He said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

I closed my textbook and rolled my eyes. Edward's smooth voice was pretty distinct, but that's not the only way I knew it was him. He was the only person who called me Isabella.

"Edward." I stated right back.

"Did you hang up on me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, actually…I hung up on your secretary. And I hung up on your secretary because, well…because it was your secretary. I'm not the one who apparently felt like you and I needed to have a conversation. So I felt no need to wait on hold to speak to you."

"I see."

"Do you? Because if you wanted to talk to me, you probably should have waited to call me when you actually had time to do just that…talk to me."

He chuckled softly on the other line and then let the laughter die off in a sigh.

"Well unfortunately for me, I don't have much time to talk to you now."

"Okay. So can I hang up then?"

He repeated that same chuckling thing.

"Settle down there, you little spitfire. You can hang up in just a minute."

"Okay. So what do you want?"

"What I want is to talk to you for more than a minute. Can I take you out to dinner tonight?"

I felt my face shift into a 'what the fuck' expression.

"I'm sorry, what? Are you asking me out on a date?"

"No. I told you last weekend that I don't date."

"Ah…I see." I said, nodding. "Is this one of those things you told me about where you take a girl out to dinner when you know that it's going to end in some 'bedroom company' then?" I asked, actually using air quotes even though he couldn't see me. "Because if so, I should warn you. I don't roll like that."

He laughed again but this time it wasn't that soft chuckle. It was a little louder and more genuine sounding.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. Don't worry."

"Well what is it then?"

"Well, I also told you last weekend that everything I do is in one way or another related to business. This is no different."

"Wait, what? I'm a broke college student with a borderline drinking problem. What business could you possibly have with me?"

"You and I can offer each other much more than you think, Isabella."

"Okay, can you stop with the 'more than you think' statements? They're creepy."

"That's the first time I've said that."

"Yeah, today. But you were all about it last weekend."

"Fair enough. So what do you say? Can I take you to dinner?"

"Uh, I guess so."

I didn't really have a good reason not to go to dinner with him. It was a free meal, I had nothing better to do, and I was really curious what the hell he thought I could offer him business wise.

"Excellent. Should I send a car for you?"

"Um, no. I'll meet you there."

"Alright. Do you like sushi?"

"Yeah, sushi is fine."

"Alright, then. Do you know where Kanpai Sushi House is?"

"Yeah, I know where it is."

"Can you meet me there at eight?"

"Sure"

"Okay, good. I'll see you at eight O'clock then."

"Okay. So can I hang up now?"

"Sure." He said, laughing.

I hung up my phone and tossed it down on the bed again, reopening my text book. I had no idea what business Edward Cullen thought that he had with me, but I was eager to find out.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When I walked into Kanpai I started looking around for Edward but found him nowhere.

"May I help you?" The hostess asked me.

I stopped looking around and turned to her.

"Uh, yeah. I'm supposed to be meeting someone here but I don't know if he's here yet."

"Oh, well do you seem them anywhere?"

_If I saw them somewhere I wouldn't be asking you._

"No."

"Well did you have a reservation?"

"I don't know. He might have made one for Edward Cullen."

"Oh, Mr. Cullen!" She said as if they were dear old friends. "Yes, he's already here. Let me show you to your table."

"Okay."

She led my through the restaurant to the back where Edward was seated at a relatively secluded table. My instincts told me that Mr. pretentious probably requested that table for privacy. Or maybe it was his own personal table. He could own it. You never know.

He had a drink in front of him that appeared to be whiskey on ice, probably Johnnie Walker. When he noticed the hostess leading me towards the table, he stood up from his side of the booth.

"Hello, Isabella." He said as I approached.

"Hi." I answered.

"Enjoy your meal." The hostess said with a polite smile before turning and walking away.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean why are you standing up?"

"Oh. Because it's proper etiquette." He said as if it were common sense. "It's a gentlemanly formality to stand when a woman comes to join you at the table."

"Oh. Right. Well, we're not at a formal ball or wherever you go that people do that, so why don't you just sit back down."

He laughed his soft chuckle and gestured to the seat across from him.

"After you"

I gave him a pointed look and then slid into my side of the booth.

"Proceed." I said in the best formal voice I could as I gestured to his seat like he had to mine.

He sat down and took a sip of his drink.

"You look very nice this evening."

"Thanks."

"I like your jacket."

I smiled and leaned in towards him, dropping my voice to a whisper.

"It's pleather. Nice, huh?" I said with a dramatic wink.

"It's what?"

"Pleather. You know, like a shitty knock off of leather? It's like a blend of plastic and leather."

"Oh. Okay." He said, looking almost disgusted.

_I guess he really is related to Alice._

"So, you have a business proposition for me?" I asked, using my formal voice again as I folded my hands in front of me.

_Wow, way to sound like a hooker._

"You don't waste any time with small talk, do you?" He asked with an amused smile.

I opened my mouth to answer him with something witty, but was interrupted when our waiter came over to us.

"Can I get you something to drink, miss?" He asked me.

"Uh, yeah, can I get a Cape Cod please?"

"Certainly. And another glass of Johnnie Walker for you, sir? He asked Edward.

_Hah. I was right. I really do know my alcohol._

"Yes, please." Edward answered. "With a little less ice this time"

"Certainly" The waiter said and then nodded and turned to walk off towards the bar.

"So, Isabella. Have you had luck staying healthy this week?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your insurance. You said that you were no longer insured because you had to drop some of your classes."

"Oh, yeah I did."

"So how is that working out for you?"

"Well it's only been a week so no, I haven't been plagued by disease yet. Famine, maybe. But not disease."

"Well let's hope that luck continues for you then, shall we?" He said and then paused to take a sip of whiskey. "However, I guess it's only a matter of time before a visit to the doctor will be in order."

"Is that why you asked me to dinner? To point out all the reasons my life sucks?"

He laughed softly and traced the rim of his glass with his finger.

"Well when you put it that way, in a way…yes. I did ask you here to point out all of the reasons your life isn't exactly thriving at its full potential. But not because I want to upset you or make you feel bad."

"You want to talk about why my life is shitty, but not make me feel bad?"

"Precisely. I want to talk about why your life is shitty, and then I want to help you make it better."

"I told you before that I'm not a charity case, Edward. I don't need your help."

He nodded as if he were expecting me to say that and then took another sip.

"Perhaps I started this conversation off with the wrong approach. Let's talk about me, shall we?"

"What about you? You're pretentious and a little fucking weird for my liking. I'm still trying to figure out what your underlying business motive is. Because I know you didn't invite me here to eat sushi and chat about Aunt Ethel."

"No, I did not invite you here to eat sushi and chat about Aunt Ethel." He said, looking amused.

I was starting to get fed him with him beating around the bush, but before I could say anything else the waiter returned with our drinks. He sat the glass of whiskey down in front of Edward and my Cape Cod in front of me. Edward drained the last of what was in his first glass and then handed it to the waiter.

"Are you two ready to order?" The waiter asked.

"Are you ready, Isabella?" Edward asked me.

"Uh, yeah." I said, looking up at the waiter. "Can I please get a California roll with a side of steamed rice?"

"Okay, certainly." He said, writing down my order. "And for you, sir?" He asked, turning to Edward.

"I'll have a tempura roll, also with a side of steamed rice."

"Okay, great." The waiter said, writing down his order. "I'll have that right out." He added with a smile and then turned and left.

"So, as I was saying…let's talk about me." Edward said with a faint hint of a smirk.

"Go ahead. Talk about yourself all you want." I said, taking a sip of my drink.

"Why don't we point out all the reasons that _my_ life is not as satisfying as it could be?"

"Yeah, okay." I said, rolling my eyes. "So your mother wants you to settle down and you wish you had some complacent, stuck up bimbo to drag around to your business parties. So what, Edward? You have a twisted outlook on your life. Your only reason to complain is because you don't want a woman, but you _want_ to want a woman. Some of us actually have _real_ problems to deal with."

He laughed an annoyingly condescending laugh and then took a sip of whiskey.

"As petty as you may think my discontentedness is, Isabella, and as much as I wish I could, I cannot change my outlook on things."

"Fine. So your life sucks because you're all alone and you're all alone because you don't let anyone get close to you. Glad we have that established. Now, why are we talking about it?"

"Patience is not a virtue of yours, is it?" He asked.

"No, it's not. And I don't know if you're just masochistic or what, but didn't we talk about our problems _last_ week? Why are we doing it again? I'd rather be home doing something productive than sitting here wallowing in my own misery. Yeah, I have problems. Yeah, they suck ass. But I don't have the means to change them right now, so why does it matter?"

He took a long gulp of whiskey and then set his glass down, folded his hands in front of him, and leaned forward just slightly. Then he looked me dead on with calculating eyes, his voice getting low and serious.

"It matter because I'm a problem solver, Isabella. I may come from money, but I'm also a self-made man. And I don't let anything stand in my way. Not even life."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked, although my voice was a little less confident than before.

His demeanor and voice had shifted. He was speaking more like a business man now than my best friend's asshole brother.

"It means that I want something you've got."

"What in the world do I have that you could possibly want? Is it my overdue car payment or my cockroach infested apartment?"

"You" He stated simply.

"Excuse me?" I asked, twirling my straw around in my drink.

I was pretty fucking certain that Edward hadn't asked me to dinner that night as part of a come on, so I was having a hard time catching the drift of what he was getting at. I heard him when he said this was about business, but I had nothing to offer him. Did he not realize that?

"I want _you_ Isabella, you are my perfect match."

_Okay, maybe this is a come on. _

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." I said, grabbing my purse and moving to get up out of the booth. "I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, Edward. But you are clearly mistaken." I said as I stood up and then turned back to look at him. "I have nothing to offer you, business wise or romantically or whatever the hell it is your thinking."

He reached out and grabbed my wrist, although not in a forceful way. It seemed more to get my attention.

"Are you sure you want to leave, Isabella? Because if you do, then you can go back to your cockroach infested apartment in that run down, crime scene you call an apartment complex and I won't try to stop you. But all I'm asking is that you enjoy some sushi with me and listen to what I have to say. If at the end of our conversation you decide that this dinner was a waste of your time, then we'll go our separate ways and pretend this conversation never happened. But I'm merely asking for your time. I'm not trying to make a pass at you, but you and I could have something great together."

I opened my mouth to answer just as the waiter approached, holding our sushi.

"Is everything alright here?" He asked, glancing down at Edward's hand around my wrist.

I pulled my hand away and then glared at Edward for just a split second before tossing my purse down on the booth seat again and then sitting back down.

"Everything is fine." I answered.

"Alright, well, here's the California roll for you." He said, setting my food down in front of me. "And the tempura roll for you." He said, putting Edward's food down in front of him. "Is there anything else I can get for you two?"

"No, we're fine." I replied.

"Very well, then. Enjoy your meal." He answered and then nodded and left.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. But if I finish my sushi and you're still talking in circles, I'm out of here." I said sternly to Edward.

"Fair enough" He replied, taking a sip of whiskey. "Shall I begin my explanation then?"

"Yeah, sure, go for it." I answered, opening my chopsticks.

He sighed and then opened his own chopsticks.

"How long is it going to take you to finish school, Isabella? With you having to cut back your classes to work."

"Forever" I answered quickly.

It sure felt like forever. School took twice as long when you could only go part time.

"Do you agree that not having to work would be significantly helpful in quickening the time it will take you to complete your education?" He asked before popping a piece of sushi into his mouth and chewing.

"Uh, yeah, isn't that obvious?" I answered.

"I would assume, yes."

"But I don't see your point. Me not working is out of the question."

"Exactly. It would be impossible to pay for your tuition and textbooks. Not to mention your rent, food, clothing, and vehicle expenses."

"Once again, Edward, I do not feel like sitting here and pointing out all of the reasons Bella's life sucks."

"Well, unfortunately, it's necessary for me to do in order to adequately present my proposition to you."

"Speaking of that proposition, can we please get to it?" I asked before taking a bite of sushi.

"We're getting there, we're getting there. Patience, Isabella."

"Have you seriously not ever noticed that I go by _Bella_?"

"Of course I have. I'm not an unobservant fool."

"Then why do you call me Isabella?"

"Has it not ever occurred to you that I like the name Isabella?"

"No."

"Well that's why I call you that."

"Fine, whatever" I mumbled, taking a sip of my drink. "Just get on with what you were saying."

"Where were we? Oh, right. No we're about to get to the good part."

"Joy." I said sarcastically.

"So you agree that not working would make your life a lot easier. Do you also agree that having the type of financial stability that I do would allow you to support yourself without having a job?"

"Obviously, Edward. What's your point? Do you just like pointing out that you have money and I don't?"

"No, but like I said…it pertains to my proposition."

"Fine, proceed." I said, throwing my hands up.

"So think about it. What if you had access to all of my resources? What would life be like if you had access to all of my properties, all of my investments, all of my vehicles, all of my liquid assets…everything?"

"Yeah, that would be great. It would save me a lot of anxiety attacks. What's your point? You want to give me your money?"

He ignored me. He took a bite of sushi and a sip of whiskey before speaking again.

"Well now that we're on the same page on that subject, let's go back to me and my situation. Do you not see what you could offer me?"

_On the same page? Yeah right. I have no idea what you're talking about._

"No, I don't. Like I said, I have nothing to offer you. And I'm serious."

"You're wrong, Isabella. Like I said, I want _you._ You can offer me _you._"

"I thought you said you weren't trying to hit on me."

"I'm not. I don't mean romantically."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Think about it. Your problem is finances. My money would solve your problems. You know what _my _problems are. Do you not see how you could help me with those problems?"

"Your problem is that you don't have a woman in your life. I'm a woman, but you said you're not interesting in dating or hitting on me…so how can my gender be of help to you?"

"Having a woman in my life doesn't mean that I have to be romantic with her, does it?"

"So…" I started slowly, trying to piece together what he was trying to say. "You want me to go to events with you? And in exchange you want to help me with my problems. So what does that mean? You want to pay me to go to events with you?"

"In a way, yes." He answered with a satisfied smile.

I nodded thoughtfully, glad that I was starting to catch on, and took a sip of my drink. To be honest, I wasn't entirely opposed to pimping out my company to Edward for events and shit in exchange for money. I mean that sounds like the easiest job ever, right? How awesome would it be to get paid to just dress up and go to cocktail parties and listen to people use big words? I could do that.

"So that's your business proposition?" I asked, actually feeling a little optimistic now.

Maybe Edward was right. If he was willing to pay me to play dress up, then we _could_ have a good thing between us.

He hesitated a brief moment and then took a small sip of whiskey before answering.

"In a very basic way, yes. That is the idea behind my business proposition."

"So how would this work?" I asked, leaning forward a little with interest. "I just have to go to events and stuff with you and then you pay me? Would you pay on a per event basis or what?"

He laughed softly and took a bite of rice.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind, Isabella. There's more to it."

"Oh, okay…go on then." I said, willing to listen now that I was catching on to what he was getting offering.

"Well, in order for me to reap all of the benefits I'm seeking in this arrangement…I would need the people in my life to believe that we're in a relationship."

"So you want me to pretend to date you?" I asked, picking up my drink for another sip.

"No, Isabella. I want you to marry me."

I choked on my drink and pulled my glass away from my lips. I wiped my mouth with my napkin and looked at him, thinking surely he was joking or being sarcastic. But when I looked at him, all I saw was a serious and waiting face.

"You're serious, aren't you?" I asked, taken aback.

"I'm very serious."

"Hmm. Matrimony…sounds great. I just have one question."

"Go ahead. Ask me anything."

"Are you _fucking_ insane?" I asked in a hush voice, not wanting to draw attention to our table.

"No, I am not insane. I'm a business man. And I'm offering you a deal that in my opinion would be very unwise for you to refuse."

"What's wrong with just paying me to pretend to date you? Why would you even come up with the ridiculous idea of us getting fucking _married_?"

"Is it really so ridiculous? For one, you would have access to my insurance coverage. You wouldn't be able to get that otherwise. And trust me…I have the best kind of coverage you can imagine in every type of insurance."

"I can live without the insurance. I could make do on paychecks from you."

"You would be able to share my lavish home with me, which I would only do with my _wife_. And you would have access to every single one of my assets. Wouldn't you rather have that than a paycheck? That doesn't even compare."

"Okay. But those are all reasons for _me _to want to take it a step further into marriage. Why would _you_ not be content with just wanting to pretend to date?"

"Simple. For legalities…I would want you tied to me contractually."

"Wait, back up here a minute. Why are you asking _me_ to do this? If you want to make this deal with somebody, why would you pick your sister's best friend? And somebody who is close to the rest of your family? Wouldn't you rather bring in a stranger? Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Why did I pick you? There are many reasons. The list goes on and on, really."

"Okay, then start listing."

"Alright" He said with an amused smirk. "One, I trust you. Why would I want to bring a stranger into my home, much less marry them? You've known my family for years. And although we've never particularly bonded with each other, I trust you because my family trusts you."

"Okay, I guess that kind of makes sense." I said with a shrug. "Go on." I said, taking a bite of my food.

"Two, my mother adores you. She wants me to get married and settle down so badly. If I'm going to do it, I might as well pick someone I know she'll be happy to see me with."

"That's not a good reason to marry someone." I said with an eye roll.

"But it wouldn't be a_ real_ marriage. It would merely be a contractual agreement."

"Fine" I conceded. "Go on. Reason three?"

"You need me just as much as I need you…if not more. You need money, and you need it badly."

"So? I'm sure you could easily find another financially challenged person."

"Once again, I don't want to marry a stranger."

"Then befriend them first."

"Why would I do that when I have you right in front of me?"

"Reason four?"

"Reason four is probably the most crucial reason of all. You don't like me."

"Exactly! Why would you want to marry someone who doesn't even like you?"

"Because I am only interested in a business agreement. I truly have no intention of anything else. It may be called a marriage, but to me it would be nothing other than a simple contract. I have no interest in creating an actual legitimate marriage in the conventional sense, and I don't think you would either. It would be difficult for me to trust the intentions of anyone else. But I sincerely believe that you do not and will not ever have a true romantic interest in me."

"There are plenty of gold diggers out there."

"Yes, but I would hate to get myself into a situation where I hastily marry someone for a business agreement and then have them try to start up an actual relationship with me later on or expect one. I don't worry about that happening with you."

"Wow. So you think it will be difficult to find someone who doesn't want to be romantic with you? That doesn't sound conceited at all…" I said sarcastically.

He flashed me a cocky smirk.

"Women as a general population tend to find me very attractive, thank you very much."

"Yeah and then they get to know you, right?"

"Ouch." He said, still smirking.

"I'm sure you can find someone who doesn't care about your strapping food looks. People marry for money all the time."

"Yes, but would they truly be content with that type of relationship? That's reason five. What originally planted the seed of the idea for this arrangement was when we both agreed that we are genuinely content being on our own. And I believe that you really are that way, as am I. We're both emotionally independent people. I don't need you emotionally and you don't need me. Without bringing emotions into it, we could have the perfect marriage. Well, the perfect marriage for us anyway. And the key element that would make this work…neither of us cares about giving up the possibility of a real relationship. Neither of us wants that."

"Reason six?" I asked, having absolutely no rebuttal for reason five.

"You're hot." He said with a playful smirk.

"You're out of reasons, aren't you?" I asked, amused.

"For now" He answered.

I stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to absorb everything he had just said. I quickly found that it was impossible to absorb. I was like Teflon to this insanity.

"I'm sorry, but I still think this is crazy. I mean we're talking about getting _married_, Edward. This sounds more like a really bad idea than a suave business deal."

"I know it sounds crazy. At first I thought that I _was_ crazy for even thinking of it. But the more I considered it, the more I realized that it makes perfect sense. It may be unconventional, but it fits both of our needs perfectly. We're the perfect match."

"You've let all those business deals you work get to your head. This is insane."

"Think about it, Isabella. The best insurance coverage you can get, the finest luxury vehicles money can buy, multiple homes, lavish vacations, fancy parties, expensive champagne, a paid for education, shopping sprees, expensive restaurants…you could have it all. To be honest, you would probably be gaining more out of this arrangement than I would. I'm willing to give you all of that and all I ask in return is your company and agreeing to play into my public facade."

"You're seriously willing to give me access to all of your money just to be your trophy wife?"

"Well we would have a prenuptial agreement of course so that you couldn't marry me just to divorce me and take half of everything. But yes, I'm willing to give you all of that as long as we're married."

For a split second, I faltered in my resolve to remain sensible. I actually, for one moment, considered his proposal. Nobody would be able to not at least _think_ about his offer. Who wouldn't be interested in the lavish lifestyle that a man like him could offer? But it was only a moment. My more rational side was screaming at me to remember that this was crazy.

"Okay look. I'm actually going to make an effort to not be a bitch when I say this. With all due respect, this is absurd. As much as I wish I was as financially stable as you, and as much as it would help with school, I can't marry you. There is just no way it would work out."

He nodded once and then took a sip of whiskey, looking disappointed.

"I'm sorry that you're not as enthusiastic about the possibilities of my proposition as I am, but I understand."

"Well, thanks for understanding." I said, feeling a little awkward.

_It's not every day a girl turns down a marriage proposal, after all._

"Certainly" he answered.

"I mean, it's nothing against you personally…I just don't think it's a good idea."

"I don't need an explanation." He said. "I know it is a far-fetched idea."

"Okay, well, I think I should go." I reached over towards my purse and pulled out my wallet. "I can put down some cash for my half of dinner." I told him, opening it.

"No, no." He said, holding up his hand. "I told you I was taking you to dinner, and that didn't depend on your answer. It's my treat. I insist."

"Okay." I said, closing my wallet and putting it back in my purse. "Well, thanks for the food."

"You're welcome. And good luck with everything."

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you around."

"Sure. Have a good night."

"Thanks. And, um, good luck finding of the type of girl you're looking for."

He gave me a weak, polite smile.

"Thank you. But I don't think that's going to happen. You really are one of a kind, Isabella."

Not knowing what to say to that, I just tried to force a smile and then grabbed my purse and got up. I turned and walked away through the room of tables. When I got to the last place that I would be able to see Edward, I glanced back over my shoulder to give him one last look. I felt bad for the man sitting there completely alone, eating his sushi and drinking his whiskey. And I felt a bit of remorse for him at the thought that he probably would always remain that way...alone.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Thanks to Edward, I had a hard time concentrating on all the homework I had to do the next day. Since our discussion at dinner was so absurd, I should have been able to just forget about it…but I couldn't. It was like this small but very obnoxious voice in the back of my mind kept repeating everything Edward and I had talked about. I mean, nobody could be offered all of the money and lavish things that he had and not dwell on it for a couple days. But even though having access to all of Edward's assets and money would be amazing, his idea was still ridiculous. A marriage and a business arrangement were two very different things and I didn't see how it was possible to effectively turn one into the other.

So how did I end up parked in front of Edward's gigantic house like a fucking stalker? Let me tell you.

I gave up on being able to concentrate on my homework and decided to go get some grocery shopping done. Not wanting a repeat of my experience with Alice, I went online to make sure that I had an adequate amount of money in my bank account. As a strolled the aisles, trying to mentally gage what I could afford and make sure to only pick up the cheap store brands, I was _again_ reminded of Edward. I couldn't get him and his stupid proposition out of my mind. If I was married to Edward, I wouldn't have to budget my groceries and I wouldn't have to buy the shitty generic brands. And that went much further than grocery shopping. I could also go crazy shopping for clothes, shoes, and probably even fucking cars.

It didn't take long for me to get _another_ reminder of Edward's deal. Some mom was walking down the same isle as me with her three obnoxious kids who were blocking my path and then, just my luck, I got stuck behind them in the checkout line. It reminded me of how much a hated going to the grocery store and then I thought to myself that I probably wouldn't have to do my own grocery shopping if I accepted Edward's proposal. He probably had people hired for that shit because I really couldn't picture Edward pushing a grocery cart.

_Why the fuck can I not stop thinking about Edward's proposition? It was insane, remember Bella? Hence the reason we said no._

Yeah, my conscious likes to speak to me as if we're a team in this life. It's kind of sweet if you ask me.

So, Edward's ridiculously big house just _happened_ to be on my way home from the grocery store and since I hadn't been able to get him and his money off my mind all day…I decided to stop by for some recreational stalking. I hadn't bought any perishables at the store, so I was good to go. I'm not sure why I decided to go there. Maybe because I had only seen it once and I wanted to get a better look at it. I had been once with Alice after he had first built it just to check it out, but I hadn't been back since. I guess with all the recent thought of his vast wealth, I wanted to see where the man lived. So, I parked in the street in front of his house and just sat there staring at it like a crazy person.

His house was set back at the end of a long, winding driveway so I couldn't get a close look at it, but I could see that it was big and beautiful. It was in the middle of a neighborhood full of multiple million dollar homes, but each house was spaced pretty far apart so they had a good deal of privacy. Edward's was at the top of its own little hill and was surrounded by gorgeous, mature oak trees. I happened to be there right at the time that the sun was setting behind his house, making it look even more gorgeous than it would usually.

I shut my car off and gaped at the massive home, imagining what it would be like to live there. My parents had always provided for me growing up, but they both always lived in relatively small houses. I had never even had a taste of the lifestyle that Edward led, and I wondered what it would be like. What would it be like to go to fancy parties, drive fancy cars, and wear fancy clothes? With access to all of that, I could have a whole new life.

When I started to think about the possibilities of what Edward had offered me, I realized that he had been right about at least one thing. I would be gaining more than he would. He was willing to give me access to _everything_ he had, and all he wanted in return was company. All he requested of me was to live in his big house and go fancy places with him while I could spoil myself with his money.

_And why did I have a problem with it?_

_Because you're a stubborn pessimist, Bella._

_Oh yeah, that's right._

The more I thought about the prospective situation with Edward, the more seriously I took it. Was it really so crazy? Maybe I was just stuck in the mindset of what was considered normalcy by society. I wasn't looking for a relationship whether I got involved with Edward or not. So if I was going to be alone regardless, what was so bad about being alone in a fake marriage that would benefit me in more ways than one? Was it really a wise move to let fear and uncertainty hold me back from something that had the potential to really better my life?

I decided that I need to go home, have a couple shots, and think things over a little more. I was starting to think that passing up this opportunity might not be such a good idea after all. I sighed and turned my key in the ignition to start the car, but all I got was sputtering. I tried it three more times and got the same result.

_Just my fucking luck._

No, I was wrong. The part that was just my fucking luck was when I took my cell phone out to call someone for help and saw that battery was dead. _That_ was just my fucking luck.

"Damn it!" I yelled, tossing my useless phone down on the floorboard of the passenger side.

I sat there for only about ten minutes debating what to do. I briefly considered walking home, but quickly decided that it was too far. Without being able to turn the air conditioning on, my car was rapidly getting way too hot to just sit there. So I had to come up with a plan fast. And the only option I really had was to walk up to Edward's house and hope that he was home. What else could I do?

_Great_. _Once again…just my fucking luck._

Speaking of luck, I was getting pretty sick of my lack of it.

I grabbed my purse, got out of the car, locked it, and began my trek up the driveway. As I got closer to house, I noticed in more detail how nice it was. I didn't remember it being that nice the last time I saw it, but it was still partially under construction then. It was perfectly landscaped and the exterior was a mixture of cobblestone and brick with a huge wooden front door that looked like it belonged on a fucking castle. It had three single car garages in a row that were made out of the same gorgeous wood as the front door. In front of the garages the driveway winded into a circular drive that wrapped back around into itself. There were two cars parked in the circle, but that didn't necessarily mean that Edward was home. I was sure he had multiple vehicles.

As I walked up the steps to the front door, all I could think about was my disbelief that only one person lived in this humongous home. There was no way that Edward used the whole thing. God knows how many rooms there were. I rang the doorbell and rolled my eyes when I heard that it was one of those obnoxious chime doorbells that rich people always have.

I tapped my foot impatiently until, just as I was about to assume he wasn't home, the door opened. But it wasn't Edward that stood behind it. It was some frumpy woman dressed in jeans and an oversized Yankees T shirt. Her hair was in a bun and she was holding a bottle of Windex. I decided it was pretty safe to assume that she worked for Edward and wasn't one of his booty calls.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked, making me realize that I hadn't spoken yet.

"Oh, um, yes. Is Edward around? I'm a, uh, family friend."

"Oh, I see. Yes, yes, come in." She said with a smile, moving aside.

"Thanks."

I walked into the house and she closed the large front door behind me. The entry way looked the same way I remembered it the first time I saw the house, except for the furniture that was now in it. There was a large winding staircase to the left of where we stood which worked perfectly with the circular shape of the foyer. The tile on the floor was a sand type color with smaller granite tiles thrown into the mix.

"Mr. Cullen is in his office. I'll show you the way." The frumpy woman said with another smile.

I nodded and followed her down a hallway to our right. We made our way down the long hallway, passing two different doors, until we got to a set of two glass French doors. Behind them, I could see Edward sitting at a desk in a small room as he read over a sheet of paper. He was wearing a dress shirt and a tie, but the tie was pulled loose and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. He was also wearing reading glasses, which I had to admit looked kind of sexy.

_Did you just call Edward sexy, self?_

_What, bitch? I never denied that he's a good looking man._

He looked up when the frumpy woman opened the doors and then did a double take when he saw me.

"Isabella…" He said, sounding rightfully surprised to see me.

"Hey, uh…I just happened to be in the neighborhood. Thought I'd stop by and say hi."

He stared at me for a moment and then looked over at the other woman and gave her a weak smile.

"Thank you, Cecilia." He said to her.

Cecilia smiled back at Edward and then gave him a small nod and left the room. Edward stood up and walked over towards me. He closed the French doors behind me and then took off his glasses and gestured from me to the big leather chair with wheels behind his desk.

"Have a seat." He said to me.

I hesitated a moment and then went and sat down in the desk chair. He followed me and perched himself on the edge of the desk, right next to me.

"So, you just happened to be in the neighborhood?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he smirked at me. "Who do you know that lives in the neighborhood?"

"What? Just because I'm not a millionaire doesn't mean I can't have rich friends." I said as I took in the view of his office.

His desk was made out of a beautiful mahogany wood and had an intricate braid carved into the wood along the perimeter of the top. He had a huge flat screen computer on the desk top as well as papers scattered all over it. To my left there was a large bookcase filled with what appeared to be legal reference books. To my right there was a fancy mini bar.

"Alright, fair enough" Edward said in response to my statement. "So what brought you specifically to _my_ house, then?"

"Funny story, actually" I answered, my eyes still wandering around the room. "My car broke down right in front of your house."

"Your car just happened to break down right in front of my house?" He asked, sounding amused.

I sighed and turned my head back to look at Edward.

"Okay, fine. I may or not have been parked outside your house. And then when I went to start my car, it just sputtered."

"What were you doing parked outside my house?"

"I don't know." I mumbled with a shrug. "I just wanted to see where you live."

"I see." He said, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, so uh…can I just use your phone, please? My cell phone is dead."

"Sure."

He picked up the cordless phone from his desk and handed it to me. I got up and went to pace around the room absentmindedly as I dialed the number for information. Edward went and sat back down in his desk chair, picking up the piece of paper he had been reading when I walked in and putting his glasses back on. I looked at him for a moment before pressing the call button and something inside of me just snapped. This had to be a sign. My car broke down in front of Edward's house and my phone had died because fate wanted me there in Edward's office in that moment. This had to be my sign to let go and take a leap of faith.

I wanted a new life.

I wanted to know what it was like to have money.

I wanted to know what it was like to live in this fancy house.

I wanted to not have to ever worry about how I was going to pay my bills again.

I couldn't pass this up. I knew in that moment that if I let this opportunity go, I would regret it. Maybe in a week, maybe in a month, maybe in a year, maybe in a decade…but one day, I would definitely regret it.

"I'm in." I blurted out suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Edward asked, looking up at me.

"I'm in. I want to marry you."

He put his paper back down on the desk and then took his glasses back off and set them down next to it. Then he leaned back on his chair and studied my face carefully as if he were trying to read me.

"Is that why you came here this evening?" He asked.

"No. But it's what I want regardless. The only reason I said no to you was because of shock and uncertainty, but those aren't good reasons to pass up the opportunity you're offering me. You're giving me the chance to seriously better my life, and I have no legitimate reason to say no."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm as sure as I'll ever be." I said, walking over and putting the phone back down on his desk.

"Well if that's the case, then we have a whole lot more to discuss. Our conversation at dinner last night was just a preliminary one if anything. There's a lot to go over and hash out."

"Then let's discuss it now." I said with a confident nod.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at me doubtfully. "Because I'm a busy man, Isabella. I don't have time for another conversation about this that isn't going to go anywhere."

"I'm sure." I said securely. "I'm going all in on this."

"Do you have a couple hours to discuss this?"

"Sure do."

He flashed me a pleased smile and gestured to a single cushioned chair sitting in the corner of the room.

"Then pull up a seat and let's see if we can come up with an agreement."

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**A/N:**

**First of all, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get up. I haven't been feeling well so that was a bit of a roadblock. But I'm feeling better. Updates won't take so long in the future.**

**Thank you to everyone who came back to read more, and I hope I also have a bunch of new readers!**

_**Life Had Other Plans**_** update coming soon…the new chapter is written, but I'm having a roadblock with some debate on plot development, so I may have to go change a few things. **

**I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter. I sent it off to my beta so she has it, but people have been messaging me like crazy for an update and since I already took a while to write it, I decided to go ahead and post it tonight. I'll replace it as soon as my wonderful beta gets it back to me :)**

**Go twitter me (at)JennaRayFF**

**Jenna**


	4. The Hashing Out

**A/N: I do not own any Character names nor do I own **_**Twilight**_** or anything pertaining to it.**

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_**(Previously…)**_

_"Are you sure about this?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at me doubtfully. "Because I'm a busy man, Isabella. I don't have time for another conversation about this that isn't going to go anywhere."_

_"I'm sure." I said securely. "I'm going all in on this."_

_"Do you have a couple hours to discuss this?"_

_"Sure do."_

_He flashed me a pleased smile and gestured to a single cushioned chair sitting in the corner of the room._

_"Then pull up a seat and let's see if we can come up with an agreement."_

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I pulled up the chair that Edward told me to and then plopped myself down into it so that we were facing each other across the desk. I put my bag down on the ground next to my chair and then crossed my legs and my arms. Edward leaned back in his chair and lifted one foot to rest on his knee. He rubbed his chin with his right hand and looked me over as if he were trying to figure something out in his head.

"Before I start," He said after a moment. "I'd just like to make it clear that this is a _formal _business agreement. Everything we are about to discuss will be written out and clearly stated in a prenuptial agreement that I will expect you to sign."

"Fair enough" I said with a nod. "Let's do this."

"And I guess I should also just let you know now that I'm a very controlling person. I like things done my way, and I don't intend for our situation to be any different. I'm putting all of my assets and all of my money on the line here, so I expect complete compliance from you."

"Compliance?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "Am I signing on to be your wife or your lap dog?"

"Neither. You're signing on to be my business partner. And expect you to cooperate with all of the guidelines I set up in the prenuptial contract."

"Guidelines? What is that supposed to mean? I'm going to have, like, rules?"

"If you choose to think of them as rules, yes. But I like to think of them as guidelines. And I don't think you'll have a problem with them for the most part."

"Alright, fine. Let's get to these guidelines, then. What all is going to be included in this prenup?"

"Alright, well, let me start off with some basic expectations. First of all, I will require you to quit your job. I can't have my wife working at some low class bar. It won't look right."

"No problem." I huffed. "I wasn't exactly looking to build a career there."

"Good. I didn't think you would have any objection to that."

"What else?"

"You're going to need to upgrade your wardrobe. Not only are we going to need to get you some formal wear for various events, but you're going to need nicer clothes for casual wear as well. Band T shirts, worn out sweatshirts, and shredded jeans aren't going to cut it." He said, giving my current outfit a once over glance.

"Okay, because of the fact that you're stuck up and you don't know better, I'm going to ignore the fact that you just insulted my wardrobe. And how much of an upgrade are we talking here? I can't wear my comfy jeans and sweatshirts, like…ever?"

"You can wear them at home and to school, but not out in public with me or to anywhere that you may run into someone from my social circle. So anywhere other than school and home, I expect you to look your best."

"Alright, I can deal with that. But how do I know what sort of clothes to buy? I don't know how your people dress."

"My people?" He asked, laughing. "You act like I'm from some foreign culture."

"You kind of are." I said with a shrug.

"I'll accompany you on a shopping trip and help you select some things. Now, while we're talking about appearance…let's discuss your hair."

"My hair?" I asked, subconsciously reaching up to touch the messy ponytail on the back of my head.

"You have gorgeous hair, Isabella. You should style it more often."

"When have you seen my hair styled?"

"You had it done at my parents' anniversary party."

"Oh, right. So is that a rule? Or just a suggestion?"

"It is a requirement, yes. I want your hair styled every day. The exception would of course be if you're ill."

"Wait, like, even for school?"

"Yes, every day. You're agreeing to be my trophy wife, remember? I will expect you to look your best for me. And that includes the privilege of seeing your stunning hair at its best every day when I come home."

"Well if that's the reason then why would I be allowed to wear my comfy clothes at home? Not that I'm complaining, but isn't that part of looking my best?"

"The clothes don't matter to me personally. You'll look fine to me regardless of what you're wearing. The wardrobe upgrade will be for public appearance sake only."

I didn't particularly like the thought of having to do my hair every day, but it seemed a small price to pay for what I would be gaining from this arrangement. So I decided to brush it off without any complaint.

"Okay, that's fine. I can do hair."

"And I'm sure this won't be a problem, but looking your best includes over all fitness. I don't expect you to have the body of an Olympic athlete, but fitness is important to me. Just keep your body looking the way it does now, and we'll be fine."

I laughed at that one.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure I don't start to resemble the figure of Aunt Ethel."

Edward laughed and licked his lower lip.

"I'm pleasantly surprised by your cooperation so far. I expected you to be firing off witty remarks every five seconds."

"Yeah, well, nothing you've said so far is too bad. And I can't expect to get everything you're willing to offer me without giving a little."

"I'm glad you have that outlook on the situation. Shall I continue then?"

"Yeah, go for it. What's next?"

"I of course am going to want to purchase a new vehicle for you. I can't have my wife driving around a shitty car just as I can't have my wife walking around in shitty clothes."

"I _definitely_ have no objection to a new car. Like a sports car or what?"

He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. We'll go out and test drive some models…see what you like."

"No objection there. We could go this weekend if you want."

He laughed and continued on with his next point.

"Well, we already discussed this next one. But it never hurts to reiterate. I will require that you attend any event that I ask you to. That's the main reason I'm doing this, so I'm not going to be lenient on it. I don't care if there's a party you want to go to or a girl's night out at the movies you want to be at, when I request your company…I expect you to be there."

I realized then why Edward told me he was a controlling person. He was really serious when he said that he intended to be in control of the agreement. I could tell just by the way he spoke. But I suppose that was part of what I was giving on my part.

"Okay." I answered.

"With that being said, I will always try to let you know in as much advance as I can when I will require your company so that you can plan your social outings accordingly."

"So I'll still be able to hang out with my friends and do what I want when I'm not with you?"

"Yes, you can still maintain your existing friendships and do things that you enjoy doing."

"How considerate…" I mumbled under my breath.

I can't be expected to control my sarcasm _all_ the time. I wasn't sure if Edward heard my remark, but if he did he ignored it.

"However, I do expect you to behave yourself in public. Going out drinking at trashy clubs like I know my sister and yourself do sometimes isn't the way I want my wife to portray herself. If there is something you would like to go out and do with your friends, I suggest you run it by me first."

"Is that going to be in the prenup?"

"Yes. All if this is going to be included."

"But that's just about me going out to shady places, right? I mean, I can still go out to regular places like dinner and the movies and the mall?"

"Of course. And you can even go out and enjoy the nightlife at clubs and such, just only places that I approve."

"So I can go out to classy bars and clubs?"

"Certainly. For example, while I would prefer for you to not be seen hanging out at _Hardy's_…the nightclub _Havana_ would be perfectly acceptable."

"_Havana?_ Do you realize that drinks at _Havana_ run upwards of, like, ten bucks a pop?"

"But that won't be a problem, will it?" He said with a smile. "Because you'll be going with our joint credit card."

I smiled and bit my lip.

"Alright, I suppose upgrading my nightlife won't be too much of a problem."

"And that brings me to my next request. When it comes to me letting you know when I will require something of you or what it is I require, I will discuss it with you over dinner. I don't care when you eat breakfast and lunch, but I will ask of you to join me for dinner every night in the dining room. I can't be too strict on that one, of course. I'll be understanding of the fact that you may want to make other dinner plans sometimes. I just ask that you inform me in advance. And just the same, there will be times that I won't be able to make it as well."

"Do I have to cook for you too?" I asked, not entirely sure if I was being sarcastic or not.

"No, you don't have to cook for me. Cecilia takes care of that. She's here every day from two PM to nine PM to keep up the house and prepare dinner. I have my dinner at six thirty every evening."

"Oh, okay." I said; glad to hear that I at least didn't have to cook.

"I think that covers all of the small stuff. I didn't think you would have too much of a problem with any of that."

"What does that mean? You think I'm going to have a problem with the rest of it?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out."

"I guess so. So go ahead. What's the bigger stuff?"

"Well first of all, the wedding. I know that one may expect that two individuals in our situation would just head down to the justice of the peace and make it legal, but I don't intend to do it that way. One of the advantages that I'm gaining from this is giving my parents the peace of mind that I'm settling down. If I'm going to get married, I should at least give my mother the joy of attending the lavish wedding she always imagined her children having."

I grimaced and chewed on the inside of my lip.

"We have to plan a wedding?"

Having a big wedding was obviously not a _deal breaker_. I wasn't that petty. It was just a big inconvenience. Who wants to go through all of the stress and drama of planning a wedding when they're not even getting married for love?

"I really don't think it will be as bad as it sounds. I'm fairly certain that my mother will want to plan it, but if not then we'll hire a wedding planner." He said with a shrug.

"Fine" I said, shrugging as well. "I'm not particularly excited about a big wedding, I would rather just go to Vegas, but if it's not a deal breaker then I guess there's no point in complaining."

"It will be over before you know it. We'll have a relatively short engagement."

"I certainly hope so. I don't want to drag this out. I just want to make this legal so we can get on with it."

"Speaking of our engagement, here comes one of the big things."

"Okay." I said, bracing myself.

"There are two major catches with this agreement that I'm not sure how you're going to react to."

"Okay…" I said again, wishing he would just get on with it.

"Everyone has to believe that we're actually in love, and I don't just mean my business affiliates. I mean my family, your family, our friends, our acquaintances…every living soul apart from the two of us will be under the impression that we're in love."

I sat silently for a moment as I formed my opinion on that. Would we even be able to pull that off?

"But how are we going to make your family believe we're in love? Especially with a short engagement. I mean, they know that we're not together. We can't just pop up one day and say we're getting married."

"I've already thought about that. We'll tell everyone that we've been secretly dating for a few months and now we've fallen in love so we want to tell them because we want to get married. They may think it's a little weird, but not unbelievable."

"Your sister isn't going to believe that." I said quickly.

"Well, it's _your_ job to sell it to her then."

I sat in silence for a little while again, this time wondering if I would be able to convince Alice that I was actually in love with her brother. I was stubborn and I'd already decided this was something I wanted to do, so I would find a way.

"So everybody in your life is going to believe that you're legitimately in love with me? I mean, even the people that work for you?"

"Yes, everyone. If everyone knew that I was taking a wife as a business agreement I don't think it would sit well with my reputation. Not only that, but I don't think my family would be very supportive. It's just easier to make it cut and dry. Nobody knows."

"I guess that makes sense. It would be kind of embarrassing to tell people."

"As soon as we get the prenuptial agreement sorted out and signed, we'll tell our families. Then I figure we'll throw an engagement party here at the house for our friends and family. And then I feel about three months will be a good amount of time to wait before the actual wedding. It will give us enough time to plan things and let our families adjust to the news, but it will be quick enough to get things rolling."

"So all of this isn't going to go into effect until three months from now?"

"Well, you won't be legally committed to me until three months from now. However, I think we should make a gradual transition into things. We need everyone to believe we're in love, so we at least want it to appear that we're together. In that time frame we can go shopping for your new clothes and vehicle. It would probably be a good idea for you to come to at least a couple business events with me as my fiancé. And I think it would be good for us to attend my family dinners every other Sunday together. I'm willing to write you a check for more than enough money to last you the three months if you're willing to do those things with me now. And since you'll have that money, I'd like for you to go ahead and quit your job."

"Okay." I said with a nod. "That's not a problem. I'll quit my job and go to some parties with you."

"I have to say, I'm surprised by how well you responded to that. I didn't think you would be comfortable lying to literally everyone we know. That was one of the two things I thought you might have a problem with."

"Well, you're not the only one who doesn't want your reputation tarnished. It would be embarrassing if people knew that I was marrying you for money. I don't want people to know that…certainly not your family."

"Exactly. I'm glad you're able to share that perspective with me."

"So what's the other big one?"

"Well first let's evaluate everything we've gone over so far. Are all of the terms I've laid out thus far acceptable to you?"

"Well, I'm not exactly _thrilled_ about all of it. But at the same time, I'm sure you're not _thrilled_ about giving me access to all of your money. So with that being said, I think it's a pretty fair trade off. I understand that I have to be flexible to gain what I want, so little things like clothes and hair don't bother me."

"That's a very mature way to look at it."

"And even though it's tough to have to deal with you buying me a new car, I think I'll be able to handle it like a champ." I said with a smirk.

"Good to know you'll be able to get through that struggle." He said, laughing.

"Okay, so seriously, come on. What's the big finale? You're making me anxious."

He hesitated a moment, looking at my face carefully.

"If we're going to do this then I expect you to be monogamous to me, Isabella."

I was momentarily speechless. I had not been expecting him to say that at all. I hadn't even _thought_ about that, to be honest.

"You mean monogamous as in, like…sex?"

"Yes. Although this is not a conventional marriage in some ways, I am going to be very adamant about this. You are not to engage in any sexual activity outside of this marriage."

I sat there for a while thinking through that while Edward just looked at me, waiting patiently. It's not like I was sexually active at the moment, anyway. So that fact that he didn't want me sleeping with anyone wouldn't affect my current status in that department too much. However, I didn't really understand his reasoning. If we weren't really together when it came to emotions, then why did he care? And I happened to _know_ that Edward had a pretty active sex life, so it didn't seem very fair to be honest. This was one thing that I couldn't brush off as my giving a little to get to his money.

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't really seem fair. I mean, we're not actually together and _you_ get around. So why am I being cut off sexually?"

"I was getting to that." He said with an understanding nod. "As you've pointed out, I seem to have acquired the reputation of being somewhat of promiscuous man."

"I wonder how you got that reputation." I said sarcastically. I knew good and well how he got that reputation.

"While I'm not the type of man who wants to be in a romantic relationship, I am a very sexual man. So with that being said, there is really only one thing other than my money that I am sacrificing in this arrangement. I would not ask you to be monogamous to me without doing to the same for you."

"Wait, so you're going to give up all of your booty calls?"

"Yes."

"But...why? I mean, not that I encourage promiscuous behavior. I just don't understand why we're both giving up sex if we're not in this marriage for emotional reasons."

"I don't intend to give up sex, Isabella." He stated simply, still looking right at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him, confused. He remained still, patiently waiting for me to figure it out. So he wanted us both to stop with our sex lives, but he didn't intend to give up sex? That didn't make any sense at all. If we weren't going to be having sex outside of our marriage, then who would we –

_Oh. He wants to…_

"Oh." I said as understanding dawned on me. My eyebrows rose in surprise from their previous furrowed position and my eyes widened a little. "You want _us_ to…?" I asked, gesturing back and forth between us.

"Yes." He said with a small nod.

My eyes widened further and my mouth fell open just slightly. He wanted _us_ to have sex? I suddenly felt self conscious, knowing that he had already thought about having sex with me. But I guess knowing that he decided he _wanted_ to have sex with me should have been a little comforting in some way. At least I knew he found me attractive.

_Of course he finds you attractive, Bella. He wants you to be his damn trophy wife._

"But this isn't a real marriage, Edward. Why even take it there? I mean, we're just pretending to be in a real relationship. So why can't we just pretend that we're not having sex with other people?"

"Let me explain further. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I'm a very well known man in the area. The circle of people that my family and I associate with comes with a lot of chatter and judgment. I'm currently a single man, but I already have to deal with gossip about my sex life. I have a lot of eyes on me and I know a lot of people. At the same time, the women that I tend to keep company with know a lot of people…a lot of the same people that I know. I tend to keep my sexual liaisons within my social scene, often times repeatedly with the same women. But that can't happen if I'm married. If I'm married to you and I'm sleeping with other people, it is unavoidably going to come to light eventually. I'm a firm believer that if a man cheats on his wife or girlfriend that it's going to come out at some point, and therefore it wouldn't be any different with us. I don't want that sort of thing to impact my reputation. All it takes is one person telling another person that I had sex with them or someone else and then in a matter of days the whole city could know."

I nodded as he finished his explanation. I still wasn't sure how I felt about the whole thing, but I had to admit that it made a whole lot more sense when he explained himself. Members of the Cullen family were all notorious in the Seattle area. Edward was the male version of a socialite, whatever you would call that. He was right that people would talk about him having extramarital affairs. And to be honest, it was actually pretty good thinking on his part. If he wanted to maintain his reputation then people not only had to believe we were in a relationship, they had to believe that we were in a _good_ relationship.

"Well, it certainly makes a lot more sense when you put it that way. I can say that much."

"So I'm sure you can put the rest together on your own. I'm willing to give up the type of sex life I lead now, but I'm not willing to give up sex all together. So that only leaves one person left to do the job…my wife." He said, gesturing to me.

"Wow. The way you worded that just now was _not _a good way to sell your point." I said, laughing. "The last person to 'do the job'? That makes it sound like your just willing to settle for me."

He smiled and reached out to absentmindedly fumble with a pen that had been lying on his desk.

"I didn't mean it like that." He said, laughing softly with me. "You're a very attractive woman, Isabella. I would be honored to have you as my sole sex partner." He added with a smirk.

"Thanks." I said, rolling my eyes.

This changed the whole dynamic of things. It was one thing to agree to be legally married to Edward for money, but bringing sex into it was a whole different thing. It sort of felt wrong to agree to make this a sexual relationship. It made me feel like I was selling my body to Edward, not just my company. I couldn't imagine what other people would think of me if they ever knew.

On the other hand, it's not like Edward was some greasy pervert who made my skin crawl. I really wasn't crazy about the guy's personality, but no creature with a vagina could deny that he was a good looking man. I'd had a one night stand before with no feeling or meaning behind it, so maybe I could just think of things with Edward like that…a series of one night stands.

"I know all of this is a lot to absorb at once, but you need to decide if you're willing to agree to these conditions. If having sex with me is going to be a deal breaker for you, well, then I suppose this isn't going to work out."

I chewed on my bottom lip while I considered that. So if I didn't agree to have sex with Edward, then that would be a deal breaker for _him_. Was I willing to sacrifice the opportunity that I had decided I really wanted just because the idea of sleeping with Edward seemed a little awkward?

I imagined what would happen if I said no. If I said no deal and walked out of Edward's office right then, would I regret it someday? Yeah, I probably would.

_So there's your answer._

"What if hypothetically I at some point wanted out of this agreement? How would that work?"

"If you ever wanted out of it, all you would have to do is say so and we would divorce. The prenuptial agreement, however, will make it so that you would walk away with nothing. You would receive no settlement or spousal support. That may seem harsh, but it's the only way I can ensure that you won't just marry me with the intention of turning around and leaving with money."

"No, that makes sense." I said with a shrug.

It did make sense. Of course Edward would want to protect himself. He was putting a lot on the line here.

So the silver lining, and the part that may just seal the deal for me, was that if I married Edward and regretted it all I would have to do was say I wanted out. But if I didn't marry him and regretted _that_ choice, there was no turning back. This was a take or leave it thing. One option had an undo button, and one didn't. That part made my choice a pretty simple one.

"So what do you think? Is the prospect of sex with me not an option for you?" He asked.

I bit my lip and shifted in my chair before I answered him.

"No. No, I don't think the sex thing is a deal breaker. It would be like a one night stand…just more than one night."

"Exactly" He said with a pleased smile. "And, you know, just because we're not marrying each other for a conventional reason does not mean that we can't enjoy each other in some aspects. Look at it this way, regular sex is just another advantage that we'll both be gaining."

That actually _was_ a good way to look at it. Having regular sex with a hot guy probably wasn't something I should be upset about.

"That's a good way of looking at it." I said with a shrug.

"So there's just one more catch, and then I think I've covered everything."

"I thought you said there were only two catches? You already listed two. Now there's a third?"

"No, this is part of the sex catch."

"Oh, okay." I said hesitantly, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

What else did we have to cover sexually? Was he going to ask me to agree to do some weird kinky shit with him?

"So here's the biggest catch of all." He put the pen he had been toying with down and looked up from the desk to look confidently into my face. "Sex will be at my discretion."

"What do you mean, at your discretion?" I asked skeptically.

"I mean I will have complete control in that aspect of the marriage. You can certainly initiate sex if you feel inclined to do so, but I would require complete compliance from you whenever I make a sexual advance."

"Meaning…I can't ever decline you?" I asked, shocked.

"Correct. I realize that there is a strong possibility this may be the deal breaker for you, but if I'm going to give up all other sexual partners then I want to guarantee myself going into this that I'm going to be taken care of sexually. And an agreement on your part to endow me with sexual gratification whenever I may ask for it is the only way I'll feel comfortable trusting in that."

"And you're actually going to write that up in our prenup? That I have to have sex with you whenever you want it?"

"Yes. People include strange things like that in prenuptial agreements all the time. I'm a practicing lawyer, you'd be surprised by some of the shit I've seen."

"I see…" I muttered under my breath, deep in thought.

I stayed quiet for the longest pause I had yet. He was right about that being the biggest catch of all. Agreeing to sleep with him was already a stretch for me, so agreeing to let it be on his terms felt incredibly off. I'd thought that something felt wrong with agreeing to sex in general, but this made me feel like a fucking prostitute.

_What if he forced me to have sex with him against my consent?_

…_then you leave, silly._

And then I remembered what had made me so comfortable agreeing to everything else. If ever I found myself being pushed too far past my comfort zone, I would just leave. That seemed like a pretty good reason to accept all of this. I asked myself once again if I would at some point regret declining Edward, and the answer was still yes.

My stubborn side was really coming out tonight. I realized at that point that my mind was already made up. I really was all in on this.

"Maybe I should give you a moment to think things through." Edward said, picking up on my thoughtfulness. "I've told you all of the things that I'm not willing to waver on. Any other minor details we can talk through and figure out together. I'm going to step outside for a cigarette while you deliberate." He said, standing up.

"Uh, actually…I don't think I need a minute alone." I said, provoking a look of surprise to spread across his face. "And I could really use a cigarette right now, now that you mention it. Do you mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all" He answered, opening one of the desk drawers and pulling out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

I picked up my bag and followed Edward out of his office and through the huge, fancy house. As I walked behind him I couldn't help but notice that he walked with a bit of a strut. Or maybe it was just confidence. I don't really know. He led the way to the back door and then opened it for me and stood aside. I walked through and he followed behind me.

The backyard was massive. I'd seen it before when I came to Edward's with Alice, but it was just dirt and grass at that time. Now it had a huge flagstone patio laid out and a gorgeous pool put in past that. The pool was complete with a rock formation that had a waterfall coming out of it. But you didn't have to get to the pool to be impressed by the backyard. The patio area was impressive enough. It was decorated with gorgeous patio furniture and by that I don't just mean a little table and chairs. The best part was a set up of dark brown wicker loveseats and chairs with maroon colored cushions and a fire pit in the middle. Off to the side of that was a massive, expensive looking gas grill. Out past the patio and pool there was still a lot of grassy area. Surrounding that, along the perimeter of the property, was a huge array of vast and gorgeous trees.

"Wow, this is beautiful." I said breathlessly.

"Thank you." He answered as he flicked a switch that turned on the pool lights and then another that powered on some soft lighting around the patio, making the area look even prettier.

As we walked over to the set up of wicker furniture I continued to look around the backyard, awestruck by the thought that this could all be mine. Edward sat down in one of the chairs, so I took a seat on the loveseat with my legs stretched out in front of me. While Edward lit up one of his cigarettes, I dug around in my bag to find mine. I lit up and then took a long, much needed drag.

I guess Edward was waiting for me to speak first, because we ended up smoking our cigarettes in silence. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, running his free hand through his hair and looking around the backyard, while I watched him. It was a strange thought to have, but I liked the way that Edward looked when he smoked. I liked the way that his jaw clenched when he exhaled, which he chose to do solely through his nostrils each time. In short, Edward looked sexy when he smoked.

"So," He finally said as he butted his cigarette a few minutes later. "What do you think about all of this? Do you still think this is something you want to do?"

I looked over at him and nodded.

"Yes. Is this something that _you_ want to do?"

"Of course it is. I knew I wanted to do it before I even offered it to you."

I nodded again and then butted my own cigarette out.

"So where do we go from here?"

"Well, I can have the prenuptial contract written out in about three days. So once that's done I'll give it to you to read over and make sure that you're okay with everything and that you don't have any revisions you want made. Once we both sign the prenuptial agreement and commit to this, the next step would be buying an engagement ring and then telling everyone I suppose."

"Okay, so, I guess you'll just call me once you get the prenup done?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

I smiled and stood up, going over to him and extending my hand.

"Well then it's been nice doing business with you, Mr. Cullen."

He glanced at my hand and then up to my face, looking amused.

"Nice doing business with you." He replied as he took my hand and shook it.

Part of me felt like a raging lunatic for agreeing to marry Edward, but a bigger part of me was excited beyond belief for the ways my life was about to change.

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**A/N:**

**I know last chapter was a bit of a cliffy, so I made it a priority to get this one out quickly. **

**Does everybody still love the direction that this is going now that we've gotten the agreement pretty much sorted out?**

**I have so many wonderful reviewers, but I just want to give a little shout out to **_**Humble4**_**. You deserve a big hug because I love it when people tell me their favorite parts of chapters, which you always do :)**

**I hope Edward and Bella's agreement was everything you guys hoped it would be! Let me know what you thought!**

**Jenna**


	5. We're Really Doing This

**A/N: I don't own any of these people, but the plot is mine. Steal it, I'll get you. **

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Alice invited me out to lunch the day after I agreed to marry Edward, but I made up some excuse as to why I couldn't go. To be honest, I was terrified to see her. She had been my best friend for years and I feared that she would be able to tell that something was up just from being around me. What if she could see right through me? I wasn't very good at hiding my emotions and I was worried that I would give myself away as if I were wearing a sign that said 'hey bestie, fyi…I'm planning on marrying your brother so I can get to his money'.

_Oh God. That makes me sound like a gold digging tramp._

After getting home from Edward's house that night, I barely got any sleep. The wheels of my mind would just not stop turning with thoughts of everything I had agreed to that night. I didn't regret the agreement that we had come to, but the more I thought about it the more I wished that I'd spoken up a little more. I'd listened and agreed to everything Edward wanted, but I felt like maybe I should have asked for more.

On the other hand, maybe it wasn't my place to ask for anything more than what I was already receiving. Edward had made a few requests and stipulations, but I was receiving full access to all of his money and assets. Wasn't that a pretty fair trade?

_Oh God. Maybe I am a gold digging tramp._

There were still, however, a few questions I wanted to ask that I had thought of since our conversation and one request that I wanted to make. So that afternoon I decided to give Edward a call. Thankfully, he had given me the number to his direct line so that I wouldn't have to go through his secretary. I dialed the number he wrote out for me and waited about three rings.

"Edward Cullen."

"Uh, hey…it's Bella." I said, pacing around my room in my underwear and Led Zeppelin band T shirt.

Since I knew that I soon wouldn't be able to wear my favorite clothes as often as I wanted to, I had made a vow to myself to wear them as often as possible when I could.

"Good afternoon, Isabella. How are you?"

"Fine, thanks. I was wondering if maybe I could stop by your office for a few minutes? I want to discuss some things about our agreement."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, I don't think so. I just have a couple questions that I've thought of since last night."

"Oh, okay. Sure, you can come by. Would you like me to send a car for you?"

"No, that's okay. I'll take a cab."

I was going to have to take a cab because I had taken one home from Edward's the previous night. Since my car had broken down in front of his house, I had to get it towed. Edward offered to call some fancy driver in some fancy town car to take me home, but that just seemed ridiculous. I was fine with a cab.

"Alright. When should I expect you?"

"Is, like, a half hour okay?"

"Sure."

"Okay, cool. Can you give me the address?"

I jotted down the address on a post it as Edward recited it to me and then went to my closet to contemplate what to wear.

_How does one dress to go see their fiancé at work?_ _Is he even officially my fiancé?_

I ended up throwing on some jeans but traded my Led Zeppelin shirt for something a little nicer looking. I pulled my hair out of its messy ponytail, but didn't go as far as to apply any make up other than what I already had on.

I was glad that I told Edward it would take me a half hour to get there, because it took every bit of that and a couple minutes more. His office building wasn't that far away, but the cab driver drove about the speed of my grandmother.

The building that Edward's office was in was…fancy. It had fancy tile, fancy decorations, and fancy looking people walking around. Edward had told me that his office was located on the seventh floor, so that's where I went. The elevators that I exited once I got there were positioned at the end of a hallway, so there was only one direction to go. When I got to the end of that hallway and could either go left or right, there was a secretary's desk sitting there in front of me. So, because I had no clue where to go from there, I went over to her.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked with a sickening fake smile, looking up from her computer as I approached her.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Edward Cullen."

"Okay, certainly. You're going to go right down this hall." She said, pointing to her right and my left. "Keep going until you have to make a right and then there will be a see through door at the end of that hallway. Go through it and you should be in a small room with two doors off of it. There will be another secretary's desk in there and she'll inform Mr. Cullen that you're here and then direct you from there."

_What is this, a fucking obstacle course? Do I get a shiny gold ring to deliver and a hobbit to accompany me on my journey?_

"Okay, thanks."

I followed her directions and made my way to the see through door that took me into a tiny room. There were five chairs lined up against the wall and a tiny desk in the corner.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The next secretary asked me as I entered the room.

"Um, I'm here to see Mr. Cullen."

"Can I have your name please?"

"Bella Swan"

She smiled at me and then picked up her phone and pressed one of the numbers and then waited.

"Sir, I have a Miss Swan here to see you." The lady said into the receiver of the phone. "Okay, certainly." She replied after a quick pause.

She hung up the phone and then looked back up at me.

"Mr. Cullen's office is right through that door." She said, pointing to a door on my right.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I walked over to it.

I considered knocking, but I'd already informed two secretaries that I was here, so I just walked right in and closed the door behind me. Edward was sitting in a leather chair behind a large desk that reminded me a lot of the set he had at his house. The office had a breathtaking view of the city through a large full length window behind him, but other than that it was actually kind of boring. There were two chairs in front of Edward's desk, facing him, and a small bookshelf in the corner. His college degrees were hung up on the walls in frames, but no personal pictures or anything. It was kind of sad.

"Hello, Isabella. I'm glad you found the office alright." He greeted me.

"Hello, Edward." I said in my proper business voice, which was really just a mockery of his.

"Have a seat." He said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk.

"Okay." I said, going over and sitting down with my bag in my lap.

"So what did you want to discuss with me?" He asked.

"Well, as you know, I was a little caught off guard and overwhelmed last night by everything we talked about. I still want to do it. I just realized after I got home that I was so overwhelmed I didn't really think about making any guidelines of my own. And I also have some questions. I'm sorry to interrupt you at work, but I wanted to talk to you before you got started on the prenup."

"Guidelines of your own?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at me. "Isn't the point in all of this that _I_ get to set up the guidelines for _you _to follow in exchange for my money?"

"I guess so." I said, shrugging. "But I'm not going to request anything major. Just a few things to make me more comfortable."

"Well I suppose I should at least hear you out. Go ahead."

"Well, first of all, how long are we expecting this to last?"

"Our marriage?"

"Yes."

"Well, I figure it will last as long it continues to work for us. As soon as one of us decides we want to move on and seek something else, we'll part ways with no hard feelings."

"Okay. Fair enough, but that brings me to my first request. I understand why you would want to ensure that I'm not going to marry you just to turn around and divorce you for your money. But what if you want a divorce and I don't? I don't think it's fair that in that type of situation I would walk away with absolutely nothing. I mean, by no means would I ever try to con you into getting all of your money. But I think if you ask for a divorce first, I should at least be given some type of severance deal just so I can support myself until I can get on my own feet. Because if we do separate, I'll be left with literally not a dollar to my name."

He looked at me with a thoughtful expression for minute and then spun his chair slightly to his right to gaze out the huge window. He stayed quiet for a long time and when he did speak, he continued looking out the window and away from me.

"You bring up a good point, Isabella. I think that's very reasonable. Provided that you follow all of the other stipulations in the prenuptial agreement for the length of our marriage, whatever that may be, I will make sure that you have an adequate amount of money to get back on your feet in the event that I ask for a divorce first."

"Thank you. I'm glad you understand."

He stayed quiet for a long time again before speaking.

"That gets me thinking. If the reason for your ending of the marriage is because you've grown and want different things in life at some point, it wouldn't be fair to leave you with nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's say we're married for ten years and then you decide you want to move on and find someone to settle down with in a real, loving marriage. If that were to happen, and you'd been my wife for that long, it wouldn't feel right to leave you with nothing. Therefore, I think it would be fair to gauge the amount of money you walk away with according to how long the marriage has lasted. If I choose to end the marriage first, then I'll give you a generous sum of money regardless. But if _you_ chose to end the marriage, then I'll give you an amount of money for severance depending on the length of the relationship. For example, you would walk away with twice as much money after ten years than you would after five years."

"That seems very fair." I said, impressed that he had considered that. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now what else did you want to discuss?" he asked, turning back in his chair to look at me again.

"Well, um," I stammered, not sure how to approach my next topic. "I wanted to talk about the sex thing."

"Alright, sure, go ahead." He said, seemingly not feeling awkward at all with this subject.

"Do you have any idea how often you you're gonna want to, you know, do it?"

He stared at me for a moment and then a small, amused smile appeared on his face.

"You want a schedule?" He asked, seeming to be fighting laughter.

"No, just a general idea of how often. I mean, should I expect it every day or a couple times a week or what?"

He laughed softly, apparently not able to hold it back anymore.

"I honestly have no idea how often I'm going to ask you for sex, Isabella. That depends on too many variables. I can assure that I'm not some perverted sex addict, but I really can't tell you what the frequency of our sexual trysts will be. I simply just don't know."

"Okay, well…I said that I was willing to involve sex in this agreement and I haven't changed my mind, but I do want to put some limits on it."

"What kind of limits?" He asked, giving me a skeptical look.

"Well, for one, I don't want to have sex when I'm on my period."

"Okay." He said with a nonchalant shrug. "That's what? Like four or five days out of the month? I can deal with that."

"Okay, good. Secondly, I prefer to keep oral sex off limits. I don't want to give it or receive it."

He stayed quiet and looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"I'm not sure that I'm okay with that, to be honest. Can you explain to me your reasoning?"

"I'd just like to keep _something _off limits, and that sexual act in particular has always felt very personal to me. I've had one night stands before, but I've never had oral sex with someone that I wasn't in a relationship with. So I think keeping that out of this will help me keep myself in the right mindset when it comes to sex."

"That's a valid reason." He said after a moment of thought. "But I'm not entirely sure I want to give that up."

"Well if you want our sexual relationship to remain as detached as we've discussed, then oral sex needs to stay out of it."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" He asked, giving me another skeptical look.

"Yes." I lied, although I made my voice sound completely confident.

I wasn't about to get into my past and personal life with Edward. That kind of stuff was on a need to know basis, and Edward didn't need to know.

"Is oral sex a deal breaker for you?"

"Yes."

"Well I guess I'll just have to deal with that then." He conceded with long sigh. "I'm disappointed to have to forfeit oral sex, but it's not important enough to me to sacrifice all of the other possibilities of this agreement."

"Okay then." I said with a nod.

"Anything else?"

"Yes. You're not expecting me to like, bear your children…right? Because I don't think I want kids. Like, ever."

"No, I'm definitely not expecting any children from you. I have no desire for children either. In fact, I would like you to get on birth control in an adequate amount of time for it to take effect by the wedding."

"I'm one step ahead of you, chief. This baby making machine…" I said, gesturing down to my pelvic area. "…is already out of order. I've been on the pill since I was fourteen."

"You were having sex at fourteen?" He asked, looking surprised.

"No, I got on it for menstrual reasons."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm glad that's already taken care of. Just make sure you take it consistently."

"Oh I'm all over that. Don't even worry about my fertility situation. I've got it covered."

"Good. Is there anything else you wanted to speak to me about?"

I thought for a moment, but I was drawing a blank.

"I can't think of anything now. But I'll let you know if I do."

"Alright, well, I started on the prenuptial agreement this morning. So I'll make sure to include these revisions and it should be done in a couple days."

"Okay. Well if I think of any more questions or requests then I'll call you. And I guess if you don't hear from me then just let me know when the prenup is done so I can read over it."

"So you're still up for this then?"

"Of course. You gave me everything that I came in here and asked for today. Thank you."

"Well I'm still in as well. So why don't we go ahead and see if we can get the gossip train rolling?" He asked with a smirk.

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"Come on." He said, standing up. "Come with me. I'll show you."

I stood up and swung my bag over my shoulder. Edward came over to me and extended his hand. I looked at it hesitantly before looking back up at his face.

"You want me to hold your hand?" I asked.

"Try not to look so disgusted." He said, laughing. "You're going to have to get used to it soon anyway. Just trust me."

I stood there looking at his hand for another moment before taking it tentatively. He laced our fingers together securely and led the way to the door of the office. We walked through the door and into the tiny room with one of the secretaries in it. As we walked through that room, I could feel her eyes on us the whole way. We walked out of that room without paying any attention to her and down the long hallway that I had come through when I arrived. We passed a few people in the hall that looked at our linked hands curiously, but nobody said anything. We made a left where we had to and then ended up back out in the foyer out in front of the desk of the first secretary I'd come across earlier.

Edward stopped walking and turned to face me, pulling me into a tight hug. But it wasn't just any hug. It was a fucking full body embrace. He dropped my hand so that his arms could circle around my waist and mine instinctively wrapped around his neck in return. His hands caressed my lower back and upper ass in a very non platonic way. Behind Edward, I could see the secretary at her desk shamelessly staring at us.

Edward nuzzled his face into my hair and whispered in my ear.

"Now that those two secretaries in particular have seen us together…I'll give it a half hour before the whole office is gossiping about the new woman in my life."

To all of the people around it probably looked like Edward whispering sweet nothings in my ear, but in reality he was just informing me of what it was we were doing. As we pulled away from our lingering hug, he placed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"I guess I'll talk to you soon then." I mumbled, not sure what else to say.

"Absolutely. Have a good afternoon." He said with a smile.

"Yeah, you too."

I turned on my heel and walked off in the opposite direction towards the elevators. I didn't get very far before Edward called out to me.

"Oh, Isabella, I forgot something." He called out to me.

"What?" I asked as I turned back to face him.

He strutted his way over to me, closing the distance between us with a fully fledged smirk on his face. When he got to me he moved his head to the side of mine and brushed all of my hair over the opposite shoulder, exposing my ear for him to once again whisper against.

"You're ass looks fantastic in those jeans." He whispered in a husky, rough voice that I had _definitely_ never heard him use before. "I may have to consider allowing you to keep those in your upgraded wardrobe. I quite like the idea of taking you out in those in public and letting everyone know that ass is coming home with _me._"

Now I'm not a girl who gets embarrassed easily, but I could feel heat flood my cheeks as Edward spoke into my ear with that fuck me voice. I was left speechless, which was pretty rare for a sarcastic bitch like me. As Edward pulled back and looked at my face, all I could think to do was give him a weak smile.

As I turned and continued my walk towards the elevator, I totally had an extra spring in my step.

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As promised, Edward had the prenup papers ready two days after the day I visited him in his office. He called me as soon as they were finished and then emailed them to me to read over. It took me all night, but I read over the agreement carefully. Everything that we had discussed was in there the exact way we had discussed it, so I called him back the next morning to confirm that I was good with the papers. He suggested I go over to his house that evening to sign the contract with him, so I did. I didn't expect to find one of Edward's lawyer buddies there when I got there, but then Edward explained to me that he needed to be there because someone qualified needed to watch us sign the prenup and then notarize it. I was also a little wary of the lawyer reading everything included in the papers, because it was kind of embarrassing, but Edward assured me that he would just be notarizing our signatures and wouldn't read anything.

After the dude who notarized our contract left, Edward asked me if I wanted to stay for a more in depth tour of the house since I would be living there soon. I said yes, because I was curious. Since I'd already seen his office and the entry way and the back yard, he suggested we start in the kitchen.

"I guess things are official now, huh? I mean, since we've both signed the prenup." I said as we strolled leisurely in the direction of the kitchen.

"Not technically. The prenuptial agreement is signed, but it of course won't actually matter until we've said our wedding vows."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Do you like to cook?" Edward asked as he walked through the swinging doors into the huge kitchen.

"Not really. I don't have anything against it; I just don't know how to make very much."

"Yeah, me neither." He said with a shrug. "I know how to make a few specific things, but my menu doesn't have much variety. I guess the kitchen still gets a fair amount of use though when Cecilia is here."

"It's beautiful." I said, taking in the view.

The kitchen alone I think might have been the same size as my whole apartment. To my right was a little nook with a bay window and a small kitchen table in it. To my left was the actual kitchen part. The countertops were made from beautiful black granite and the cabinets complimented well with their dark cherry wood. All of the appliances were smooth, perfectly clean stainless steel. But the best part was the refrigerator.

"Get out!" I squealed, running over to open it. "I love these refrigerators!"

Edward had one of those awesome refrigerators where the door was covered by the same wood as the cabinets, making it blend in. Both doors opened to the refrigerator part and the freezer was a pull out drawer underneath them.

"I'm glad you're so enthused about it." Edward said, laughing softly from where he stood behind me.

"Sorry." I said, closing the doors. "I've just never actually seen one in somebody's house before. I've only seen them on T.V."

"Well if you're that thrilled by a refrigerator, then I'm excited for you to see the rest of the house."

"Alright, let's do it." I said, spinning around to face him.

"Alright, let's do." He said with a smile.

He led me through another set of swinging doors, not the same ones we'd entered through.

"This is the dining room." He said as we walked in.

The dining room was pretty simple, just like all dining rooms are. There were some gorgeous paintings on the walls, which were painted a burgundy color, and a large china cabinet displaying a china collection. Other than that, the massive wooden table was the only thing to look at.

"Are we going to be eating the dinners you requested together in here or at the table in the kitchen?"

"I haven't decided yet." He answered simply.

Opposite of the swinging doors that connected the dining room to the kitchen, the fourth wall of the room just had a big open space instead of a door. We walked through that space and went back to the foyer where we then made our way down a different, short hallway I hadn't been down yet. That hallway put us out into the living room, which looked more for show than for actual lounging use.

"This room doesn't look like it's used very much." I commented.

"It isn't. I don't entertain much and I have a media room with a projector screen to watch movies on. Although, I don't watch many movies either. I'm not even at the house very often and when I am I'm usually held up in my office."

My tour of the downstairs took a while. In total it consisted of his office, the kitchen, the dining room, the media room that he mentioned, a library, three living room type areas total, a billiard room, and a little sunroom that overlooked the back yard area.

Before we went to see the second story, he took me down to the basement level. It wasn't too large, but it consisted of a large laundry room, a large storage area, and a small wine cellar. Once I saw all of that, we went back up to the main floor to take the back staircase up to the second floor.

To my surprise, the second story was just as impressive as the rest of the house. The first room he showed me was a large and well equipped home gym. He told me that he began his day every morning with a workout and I definitely believed him, because nobody could deny that his body was banging. After that he showed me his three different guestrooms, and then his own room.

His room was pretty normal looking at first glance. The bed was huge and very inviting looking, but it made me anxious to look at.

"So I'm assuming that since we'll be having sex we'll be sharing a bed, too?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yes." He confirmed with a nod. "We will share the master bedroom."

"Well at least it's big." I mumbled.

"There's only one closet but it's very spacious. My clothes don't even take up half of the space, so I don't think that will be an issue."

He then showed me the closet which would indeed most definitely not be an issue. It was unlike any closet I'd ever seen. It had built in shelves, drawers, and compartments all made out of mahogany wood.

And then he showed me the bathroom. And _that's _where I was impressed.

Edward could tell me that I was only allowed to live in the bathroom, and that would be totally fine. It was _huge_. But not only was it big, it was spectacular. For one, it was so sparkly clean it looked like it was never used. And then there was the fact that it looked more like a day spa than a bathroom. The walls were white and the floor was a very light colored hardwood floor. The first thing I noticed was that it had a massive whirlpool tub with jets that looked big enough for four people. Off to the side of that was a shower with glass doors that looked big enough to throw a fucking party in. It had two different shower heads hanging from the ceiling and then two more coming off the walls. Off past the shower were two doors that I had no idea what was behind.

"What's past those doors?" I asked.

"One is a linen closet and the other is the toilet."

"Oh."

I continued looking around the room over to the countertops. There were two separate sink areas, seemingly his and hers, with a floor length mirror on the wall that separated them. One of the sink areas had some toiletry items on it and the other was empty. The countertops were granite, but unlike the ones in the kitchen, they were a light tan color. The cabinets were white with silver hardware. In the middle of the room, there was a matching island and I wondered what the purpose was. Maybe it was supposed to complete the room or something. To the sides of the door that we entered through, up against the wall, were two narrows tables that matched the wood of the floor. They were empty, so I didn't really see their purpose either.

"The empty sink side will be yours, of course." Edward told me.

"This bathroom is the shit. I mean, I think your shower is as big as my bedroom."

"The shower is the best part. The nozzles all adjust to several different pressure settings and the doors can also be fogged for privacy. And it can also be used as a steam room. All of the settings are on a waterproof keypad on the wall inside of it.

"Wow…" I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Do you like it?"

"Who wouldn't? This is incredible."

"Well, good. I'm glad you think so. Shall we continue our tour?"

"There's _more_?"

"Just one more room."

The last room was not at all what I expected it to be. It was very, very simple. It had hardwood floors, caramel colored walls, and only one piece of furniture…a huge, black grand piano that sat in a corner. One of the walls had a built in bookcase that housed an impressively sized collection of records and C.D.'s and then on a small stand next to it sat the record player. Other than that, the room was empty.

"I'm assuming you play the piano?" I asked as I looked around.

"Not as much as I used to. I don't really know why, but I don't play very much anymore."

"Are you any good?"

"If I wasn't good then I wouldn't have an entire roomed dedicated to it."

"It's not like you don't have rooms to spare…" I mumbled.

"Have you ever played a piano?"

"I took lessons for a few months when I was younger, but I was atrocious so I quit."

"Do you play any other instruments?"

I walked over to the piano and brushed my fingers along the ivory keys as I thought about the old guitar in my room that sat on a stand, covered by a sheet.

"No. I don't play anything."

_At least, not anymore_.

"So what do you think of the house overall?"

"I think it's amazing. I mean, your bathroom alone is nicer than where I live now. But seriously, your house is beautiful." I said, turning to face him.

He was leaning back against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.

"Well, soon it will be _our_ house."

"Speaking of which…what happens now that we've both signed the papers?"

"Well I figured we can go ahead and tell my family this Sunday at our family dinner. And we should go ahead and get your engagement ring. I think it would be good to have it with us to show my family after we tell them. I want them to know we're serious about this."

"Alice is gonna flip the fuck out…" I mumbled, rubbing my hands over my eyes.

"Would you prefer to tell her before the rest of the family?"

"No. Let's just do it all at once."

"I think that would be best."

"Wow. We're really doing this, huh?" I asked.

After signing the papers and visualizing living in that house, everything was finally starting to sink in.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

I lowered my hands from my face to look right at him, feeling more confident about my decision that ever.

"Not at all."

He flashed me a perfect grin and then licked his bottom lip.

"Good."

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**A/N:**

**A couple people asked me Bella and Edward's ages. Edward mentioned in chapter 3 that he is 32. And I'm sorry for not making Bella's age clear enough. In the beginning of chapter one she tells a story about babysitting at fifteen and then says something about it being six years later. So that makes Bella 21. I should have made that more clear though, so my bad. **

**Some people have also asked me if we will ever have an Edward POV. I haven't officially decided yet, but I'm thinking probably not. I think I want his thoughts throughout all of this to remain mysterious. The title of the story also seems to take me in the direction of keeping this Bella's side of the story alone. However, I can't **_**completely**_** rule out an Edward POV at some point. Maybe an out take or something.**

**Some of you had some questions that went unanswered in the last chapter, so I tried to answer them all here.**

**People are also asking if I will continue writing once my baby comes (which could basically be any day). I don't know how often I'll be able to find time to write, but I do have every intention of finishing my stories. The good news is that while on bed rest I've been writing like crazy and have the next several chapters pretty much written out. I just have to go back and tweek a few things and proofread. So you won't be completely abandoned. I should still be able to update once my little man gets here :)**

**Thank you to **_**GinaJas**_**, my beta for this story. She fixes all of my stupid mistakes for me and I'm very thankful for it :)**

**I have a new story idea that's been eating away at me :/ I'm just in no position to be starting a new story because I already have three in progress and a baby on the way! But I think I'm gonna save it for when LHOP is done. I'll need something to get me through that, haha. **

**I think that's all for now.**

**Oh, wait! I almost forgot! I have a proposition for you guys. If you give me 100 reviews for this chapter, I'll give you another update at some point this weekend (before Sunday night). This shouldn't be too difficult, people. 254 people have this story on alert so far, so only less than half of you have to review. So let's get to 384 reviews and you'll get another chapter within the weekend. Get to **_**400**_** reviews and I'll make it the longest chapter yet.**

**Okay, get to it!**

**Jenna **


	6. Repercussions

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Character names nor do I own Twilight or anything pertaining to it. **

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"What about that one?"

"No. Definitely not that one."

"What's wrong with that one?"

"I don't like the cut."

"Well it's not going on _your_ finger, is it?"

"Well I don't want it on my wife's finger either."

"Oh my God." I groaned, rubbing my face over with my hands. "I'm starting to not even care at this point. This is becoming way more trouble than it's worth."

"Good. If you don't care then you'll have no problem stopping being so obstinate and letting me pick the ring." Edward answered, walking off to go look at another display case.

Engagement ring shopping with Edward was about as enjoyable as going to the dentist…maybe a little less. He found something wrong with every ring we looked at and it was really starting to piss me off because it wasn't _his _hand that the ring was going on. Even the employees at Tiffany's were starting to get annoyed with him.

"You know, it's not very often that a couple shops for engagement rings together. Usually the man does that part alone." The woman behind the counter commented to me as Edward made his way across the room to one of the only cases we hadn't looked at yet.

"Yeah, well, we're not your average couple." I mumbled without looking at her.

The female employee that had been helping us was being almost as irritating as Edward was. She wouldn't stop ogling at him and flirting with him. At one point she even leaned forward against the counter with her arms crossed under her tits, making her inappropriate amount of cleavage pop in front of Edward's face. I wasn't jealous, because I definitely wasn't Edward's biggest fan, but it irritated me because she was just the kind of girl I couldn't stand…a blonde, big boobed, skank who shamelessly drools over somebody else's man in front of their face. I mean, who flirts with somebody else's fiancé while they're engagement ring shopping? It was just trashy.

"I see that. Your fiancé is uh…very persistent in what he likes and dislikes."

I smiled devilishly as a brilliant idea came to my spiteful mind.

"Well," I said, dropping my voice to a whisper. "I can't hold it against him. See, he's a really bitter man. He has a penile dysfunction. So he's super insecure. I think he subconsciously tries to compensate by being ridiculously controlling with everything else in his life."

"A penile dysfunction?" She whispered back, looking partially intrigued and partially disgusted.

"Yeah. It's deformed. It's a total pencil dick. Sex is like dipping a pen into a bucket of water. He just can't do anything for me…poor guy." I said with a longing sigh.

"Eww…" She said, looking horrified.

"So, anyway," I said, perking back up and feeling better now that I'd told a humiliating lie about Edward behind his back. "Can I see a heart cut diamond? I don't think I've tried one of those on yet."

"Uh, um, yeah, of course." She stammered, working to recompose herself as she flipped through her key ring to find the key and open the case next to us.

"Isabella." Edward called from a couple cases down. "Come here. I want you to try something on."

He was standing in front of a case with a tall male employee behind it, pulling out a ring that I assumed Edward had pointed out to him. Edward took the ring from him and held it closer to his face to get a better look. I sighed and walked over to him. When I got to his side I extended my left hand to him, not even bothering to check out the ring he was holding first. I hadn't been particularly fond of anything he'd picked out so far, so I had no reason to believe this would be any different. He took my hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger. He looked at it carefully for a long moment before smiling and speaking.

"This is the one." He said confidently.

I yanked my hand back from him to look at the ring myself; anxious to see which one he _finally_ felt was good enough.

As soon as my eyes laid on it, my breath hitched. It was outrageously beautiful. It was perfection. It had a large square cut diamond in the middle, surrounded by tiny diamonds all along its perimeter. The tiny diamonds also trailed down along the band, about half way down on both sides. I'd never really envisioned my wedding or engagement ring when I was younger like most little girls do, but if I had…that ring would be it.

"That's a lovely choice." The man behind the counter commented to us. "That's a cushion-cut Tiffany diamond surrounded by bead-set diamonds. The band is fourteen karat white gold."

"What do you think?" Edward asked.

I shifted my eyes up to look at his face which was watching me expectantly.

"It's beautiful." I said with a conceding shrug. "I can't imagine a better ring even if I were to design it myself."

"Yeah?" He asked with a smirk. "Did we finally agree on one?"

"Looks like it." I said, looking back down at the ring I knew was mine.

"Alright, it looks like this is the one." Edward said to the consultant.

Looking down at my selected engagement ring was a very strange experience. For someone in a normal situation, I'm sure it would have been completely different. I wasn't looking down at something that I would be wearing to symbolize my love for Edward. I was simply looking down at a breathtakingly beautiful piece of jewelry. It was still exciting, though. And its beauty was still enough to blow me away.

"Great. Do you want to look at wedding bands today as well? We have three different suggested bands to go with this particular engagement ring."

"No, not today." Edward answered. "I have an important business meeting to get to. But we'll be back for the wedding bands."

"Certainly. I'll just go draw the paperwork up for this ring then."

"How soon can you have it ready to be picked up?" Edward asked. "I'm willing to pay extra, but we would really love to have it for this Sunday."

"That can certainly be arranged. We have a priority pick up option if you'd like to do that. It will only cost a little extra."

"Yes, that will be fine."

"Okay, great. You can come have a seat in the office if you'd like while I print out the paperwork. It will only take a couple minutes."

"Alright."

I took the breathtaking ring off and handed it back to the employee so he could return it to its case and then he led us to the back where Edward would fill out the paperwork to purchase the ring that probably cost enough to buy a decent car.

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On Saturday, I decided that I needed to call Alice. I couldn't just show up at her family dinner with Edward without some kind of warning. She was my best friend. I knew that the right thing to do would be to tell her about my engagement to her brother before the rest of her family, but I was a coward. I knew it would be easier to just tell everybody at once and loop her in with the rest of the family, but I also knew it was a low blow.

"Well hello stranger." She answered.

"Hey…" I said, nervously biting my lip.

"Glad to hear from you. I was starting to wonder if you were still alive."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I've had a really crazy week."

_Crazy? What an understatement._

"Do you work tonight?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I hate that you work at a bar." She complained. "You always have to work on weekends. We can't ever go out anymore."

_Yeah, well, lucky for us I'll be giving my two weeks' notice tonight…thanks to your brother. Too bad I can't tell you that._

"Yeah, well, hopefully I won't have to work there for too long."

"Hopefully. You're not working tomorrow are you?"

"No. I don't ever work on Sundays."

"Do you want to go to dinner with me at my parents' house?"

_Bingo. That's exactly what I wanted you to bring up._

I took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to answer her.

"Actually, Ali…I'm going with your brother."

I spit out the last part so fast I wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't catch it.

"You're going with Emmett?"

"No. I'm going with Edward."

"_Edward?_ You don't even know Edward."

"Sure I do. I've known him for years."

"No. You've known _me_ for years."

"…and Edward."

"Not well enough to go to my family dinner with him."

"Well, we have something to talk to you and your family about."

"What could you and Edward possibly have to talk to me and my family about?"

"I don't have time to explain now. I have to go get ready for work. But we'll tell you everything tomorrow. I promise."

"Bella, what's going on? You haven't answered any of my phone calls all week. And now you're telling me that you're coming to my family dinner with _Edward_? I don't understand."

I bit my lip anxiously, feeling like a total asshole.

"Look, you'll understand everything tomorrow. I promise. I don't have time to talk about this now."

"You can't just call and confuse the shit out of me like that, Bella."

"I'm sorry. I know it's shitty but I really have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you. Bye."

And then I hung up like the shitty friend that I apparently was. I plopped myself down on my bed face forward and let out a big, frustrated groan. I felt so guilty. Alice was my best friend and not only was I about to tell her a huge lie, but I was going about in the worst way possible. But I didn't know how else to do it. There was no way to do this _without_ being shitty to Alice.

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"She's going to hate me."

"No she's not." Edward said with an exasperated sigh.

On Sunday, I drove myself over to Edward's house since I had my car back from the shop and I didn't want him to pick me up and see the shithole that I called home. So he drove us to his parents' house in his Aston Martin. I half expected a fancy driver to take us, but Edward explained that he really only used a driver to get to and from work or major social events. The whole way there I felt like I was going to shit the Aston Martin's fancy leather interior out of nerves.

"Yes she is. Trust me. I know her."

"And I don't?"

"No. You don't. Not even a fraction as well as I do."

"She's my sister."

"And? That doesn't mean anything. When was the last time you spent over two hours with her? Christmas?"

He sighed and turned up the radio. I wasn't done talking, so I turned it right back down.

"I mean, come on. Do you think your family is seriously going to believe the load of shit were about to lay on them?"

"Not with that attitude, no. I'm a very convincing person, Isabella. Would it make you feel better if I did all the talking?"

"Yes. That would make me feel better."

"Fine. Then I'll do all the talking. You just sit there and try to look like you like me."

"That'll be a challenge all on its own." I huffed.

He shook his head with another sigh and turned up the radio again. This time I didn't have anything else to say to him, so I simply just turned to gaze out the window.

When we pulled up in the long driveway of Esme and Carlisle's house, I was glad to see that Alice's car wasn't there yet. I knew she would show up any minute, but I was thankful for any amount of procrastination I could get.

"Ready?" Edward asked as he shut the car off.

"No."

"Do you want to go through with this or not, Isabella? Because if you're going to back out then I would prefer you tell me now."

"I'm not going to back out." I said to him defensively.

"Then come on. The sooner we get this over with the better."

I took a deep breath and got out of the car. I walked around to go over to Edward as he locked the car and then together we walked up the sidewalk to the front door. I couldn't wrap my mind around how he didn't seem nervous at all. Was he not worried about what his family would say or think? He walked right in the front door without knocking and I started chewing on my lip nervously.

Esme, I assume hearing someone come in through the front door, quickly appeared in the entry way to greet us.

"Edward, honey!" She said with a warm smile, hurrying over to give him a hug.

He returned her hug and kissed her cheek.

"And Bella!" Esme said happily, moving to hug me next. "It's so nice to see you, dear."

"It's nice to see you too, Esme." I said, hugging her back.

"Where's Alice? Why didn't she come in with you?" She asked me.

"Actually, mother, Isabella came with me tonight." Edward said.

"Oh." Esme said, pulling back from our hug to look back and forth between Edward and I. "I wasn't aware that you two spend time together." She said, sounding surprised.

"Yes, we do. But we'll tell you all about that later." Edward said, giving her an assuring smile.

"Does Alice know that you're coming?" Esme asked, still seeming to be confused.

"Yeah, she knows. I talked to her yesterday." I answered.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" She asked, looking more concerned now. "You look a little flustered."

"I'm fine." I said, although I really felt like I was suffocating.

"Well, I'm glad you two are here. I'm going to get your father, Edward. Take Bella into the kitchen and fix her something to drink." Esme said before walking off down the hall.

As soon as she was gone Edward turned to me with a stern, annoyed expression.

"Could you please try to relax? You look like you just witnessed a murder."

"Well I'm sorry that I'm not as heartless as you, Mr. Cullen." I snapped. "I, unlike you, actually feel a little guilty about lying to your whole family. And to be honest, I'm not sure we're gonna be able to pull it off."

He took a step towards me until his face was right in front of mine. When he spoke, his voice had a sharp and sinister tone to it. To be honest, it was kind of fucking hot.

"Listen, Isabella. I'm not going to do this every time we attempt to tell somebody we're together. Decide now whether or not you're capable of doing this, because I'm not going to waste my time convincing my family that I'm in love with you if you can't pull it off."

"_You_ listen, Edward. I'll be fine once we tell our families, okay? This just freaks me out because I don't know how to convince everyone that we're in love with each other. Especially those who know us so well. What makes you think they're going to believe us so easily and it's all going to go smoothly?"

"I told you. Just let me do all the talking. Just go along with what I say and try to make it look like you like me. Is that really so difficult?"

"You are such a condescending prick."

"Well get used to it, honey. We're about to be married. And you better decide now if you can live with a condescending prick, because once we start telling everyone there's no turning back."

"I can put up with you. You're not as much of a badass as you think you are. But are _you _going to be able to live with a sardonic bitch?"

"Oh I'm looking forward to it." He said, narrowing his eyes at me as if he were challenging me.

"Good. Saddle up, cowboy. You're in for a bumpy ride."

"Does that mean you're gonna pull up your big girl panties and at least _attempt_ to be convincing?"

"Look, let's just get this over with so we can get on with the plan."

"Go make yourself comfortable in the living room. I'll bring you a drink."

Edward left for the kitchen and I went to make my way into the living room. I settled myself down on the couch and took out my cell phone to try and keep my mind occupied while I waited. I kept trying to tell myself that I just had to suck it up and push myself through the evening. If I could just get through one night of lying to the family that I had grown to love, then Edward and I could move forward and I would become part of that family. I just had to get through one night of bullshit, and then it would get better.

Edward appeared in the room after a few minutes holding a drink for him and one for me. His drink looked like whiskey and I was starting to realize that was his drink of choice.

"What is this?" I asked as he handed me my drink. It looked like it had Bailey's in it.

"It's a mudslide. And I made it strong."

"Good." I said and then took a big sip.

Edward sat down on the couch next to me and took a sip of his own drink. A moment later, Esme and Carlisle entered the room. Esme went and sat down on the loveseat and Carlisle came over to greet me.

"It's lovely to see you, Bella." He said, approaching me with open arms.

I stood up and hugged him.

"It's good to see you too, Carlisle."

"How have you been the last couple of weeks? I didn't get much of a chance to speak to you at my and Esme's anniversary party. But we were very appreciative that you came."

"I've been good. And the party was great. I had a good time. Thank you for inviting me."

He gave me a soft smile after pulling away from our hug and then went over to greet Edward. As Edward stood to embrace his father, I sat back down on the couch and took another big sip of my drink.

"Well," Carlisle said, pulling away from Edward. "I'm impressed that you actually made it to dinner on time, Edward. In fact, I think you're a bit early."

_Thanks to me._

I insisted that we arrive on time, because it irritated me that Edward was always late to his family dinners. Being on time for once to his parents' house would probably do his some good.

"Yes, thankfully I was able to make it on time tonight." Edward answered. "I usually get held up with work, but I was fortunate this evening."

Carlisle patted Edward's shoulder and then went to sit down next to his wife. I noticed that he did not question why I had arrived with Edward instead of Alice and decided that Esme must have told him before he saw us.

"MOM! I BROUGHT LAUNDRY!" a booming voice called from the entry way.

_Definitely Emmett._

Sure enough, a couple moments later, Emmett appeared in the room holding a laundry sack.

"Hi, honey!" Esme beamed, going over to give him a big hug.

After greeting both his mother and father, Emmett came over to sit next to me on the couch so I was between him and Edward.

"Hey, Bells!" He said cheerfully, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Hey." I said, laughing a little.

"Where's Alice?"

"Um…she's not here yet." I answered.

"Then what are you doing here?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Isabella arrived with me this evening." Edward informed him.

"Why?" Emmett asked, laughing and giving me a bewildered look.

I looked over towards Edward and noticed that Esme and Carlisle were looking at us questioningly.

"We'll get to that as soon as Alice arrives." Edward said to everyone.

I took a big gulp of my drink, hoping the alcohol would help me relax. Thankfully, nobody pushed for answers as to why I had shown up with Edward. I guess there are advantages to the etiquette of high class people. I was surprised that they didn't ask more questions right off the bat, but glad. I didn't want to have to answer any questions twice, so I wanted to wait for Alice to get there. While we waited for her, the five of us made small talk about random nonsense.

Speaking of waiting for Alice, it seemed to take hours for her to show up. I'm not really sure if she was actually late or if it just felt like eternity because I was anxious, but either way it was excruciating to wait. She didn't make a loud entrance like Emmett did. In fact, I didn't notice any indication of her arrival until she appeared in the living room hand in hand with Jasper. I wasn't aware that he was coming to dinner, but I didn't mind that he would be here when Edward and I revealed our crock of bullshit to his family. I was pretty indifferent to his presence.

Alice's eyes immediately locked on me with an accusatory look. Edward and I hadn't even started to explain anything and she already looked pissed. I understood why, though. I was a total douchebag to her on the phone.

Everybody shared a quick hello with Alice and Jasper, but she offered nothing more than a 'hi' to me. After all of the greetings were out of the way, Jasper sat down in an oversized chair with Alice perched on the arm.

"How much time until dinner will be ready, mother?" Edward asked once everyone was seated.

"Carmella said around six thirty, so I'm assuming another half hour."

"Perfect. Bella and I have something we would like to talk to you all about before we eat."

"Okay, certainly." Esme said, looking at us expectantly. "You can tell us anything."

I let my eyes dart nervously around the room, but made sure not to look at anyone in the eyes. I was afraid if I did it would give me away. I brought my drink up to my lips and took three long gulps, trying to mentally prepare myself for the possible repercussions of what Edward was about to say.

"Well," Edward started. "I know this is probably going to be very surprising to all of you, but Bella and I have been seeing each other."

"Wait, you mean like…_dating_?" Emmett asked.

"Yes." Edward answered.

The suspense was killing me so I allowed myself a quick glance up to survey the expression on everyone's faces. Emmett was looking at us as if we'd just told him that unicorns really do exist, Esme and Carlisle were looking at us with patient expressions, Jasper looked as if he'd just been told a good joke, and Alice was staring at me with a blank look on her face.

"Hold up, bro, I'm gonna need to here that again." Emmett said, sounding amused. "_You_ and _Bella_…are dating?"

"Yes. Bella and I have been dating behind everyone's backs. We didn't want to tell anyone because in the event that things didn't work out between us, we didn't want it to have a negative effect on her relationship with the family. However, things have gotten serious. So we feel it's time to bring our relationship out in the open."

It was silent for a long time and I assumed that everyone was trying to absorb the news. I stupidly chanced a glance up at Alice, whose eyes were searing into me menacingly. I quickly dropped my eyes back down, deciding it would be better to just focus on Esme's shoes.

"Well," Esme finally said after a while. "I'm sure it's no surprise to you that we're a bit blindsided here. But please don't confuse that for me being displeased by this news. I adore Bella. I'm just a little caught off guard."

"I understand." Edward answered. "We didn't keep this from you to be deceptive. We just wanted to see if things would become serious before we brought the family into this."

"How long have you two been involved?"

"We've been together for few months now."

"And what do you mean by serious?" Carlisle asked.

"Well, even though we haven't been seeing each other too long…" He paused and looked over at me with a surprisingly sincere looking triumphant smile, placing his hand on my knee. "Isabella has completely captured my heart. She's totally consumed me in every aspect of my being. I can't imagine moving forward in life without making her mine in every way possible. So," He said, turning back to his parents. "I've asked her to marry me."

_What the fuck? Nobody should be that convincing of a liar…_

Esme gasped, putting her hand over her chest, and Carlisle's eyes widened. I didn't even want to imagine Alice's reaction, so I purposely avoided looking in her direction. And then suddenly and unexpectedly, Esme stood up and practically ran over to Edward with open arms. He moved his hand from my knee and stood up just in time to catch her as she enveloped him in a huge hug.

"Oh, Edward!" She squealed. "I can't believe it!"

While Esme had her arms wrapped so tightly around Edward's neck I was worried she might strangle him, Carlisle came over to hug me. So I somehow found a way to stand up on my unsteady legs to hug him back.

"Congratulations, Bella." He said warmly as we hugged. "This is certainly unexpected news, but Esme and I would be thrilled to have you as our daughter in law."

"Thank you." I managed to squeak.

Then Esme and Carlisle switched places and it was my turn to be hugged so tightly I couldn't breathe.

"Congratulations, son." Carlisle said to Edward as they embraced.

"Oh, Bella!" Esme shrieked in my arms. "Congratulations sweetheart! I'm beyond caught off guard by this, but I'm getting more and more excited by the second! Who would have thought that you would become a legitimate member of the family some day!"

Emmett stood up and stood behind his mom with a big smile, waiting his turn to hug me.

"Thank you, Esme. I'm glad to have your blessing." I said quietly as she continued to squeeze me in her arms."

"Of course you do! It's been my prayer that Edward would find a strong young woman like you to settle down with."

I had mixed emotions as I hugged Esme. On one hand, I felt incredibly guilty to be lying to her. I felt especially guilty lying to her about something as major as an engagement. On the other hand, she was thrilled. She thought that I was in love with her son and she was thrilled about it. If she never knew any different than what she thought was happening, then why feel guilty about something that made her so happy?

When Esme finally let me go and moved aside so Emmett could hug me, I was very aware of the fact that Alice hadn't spoken yet. As curious as I was to know what she was thinking, I couldn't look at her. I was too terrified of what I would find.

"I'm getting a new little sister!" Emmett yelled excitedly as he hugged me so tight he lifted me off my feet.

Emmett had a vibe that could make anyone happy. And even though I was a nervous wreck at the moment, I couldn't help but smile a little as he put me back down on my feet.

"Dude, Edward, who knew you'd get that stick out of your ass long enough to land a down to earth chick like Bella?" Emmett said as he went to hug his brother.

"Just lucky, I guess." Edward answered.

The room was silent for about a minute after that. Edward and Emmett finished hugging while Esme and Carlisle just stood there with their arms around each other, watching us and smiling.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" Alice said in an icy tone, breaking her silence.

"Alice!" Esme reprimanded her in a whisper.

"No, mom! What the hell is wrong with you?" Edward tells us he's _marrying_ my best friend, who none of us were even aware he knew more than an acquaintance, and you don't have any questions? You're acting like this is the best news you've heard all year. Don't you find this even the slightest bit strange?"

I finally found the courage to look over at Alice, who was glaring at her mother furiously.

"Well, I admitted that we were all taken by surprise. But I think we've heard all the explanation we need. If Bella and Edward are in love and want to get married, who are we to scrutinize? We love Edward and we love Bella. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"_In love?_" Alice shrieked as if she were offended by the idea. "They don't even know each other!"

"Alice, that's enough." Carlisle said sternly. "I understand that this news is unexpected, but don't spoil this special time for Bella and your brother."

"Are you _kidding _me? Are we in some type of alternate reality? Why am I the only one who finds this a little fucking weird?"

"Alice Cullen!" Esme said firmly. "You will not use that kind of language in this home."

"Ali, come on, let's go for a little walk." Jasper suggested, standing up.

Alice shifted her eyes to glare at Edward furiously and then she turned to me. The look she gave me stung my heart so bad it was almost too much to bear. I think I could have dealt with the same furious glare she gave Edward, but the hurt look she gave me made my stomach drop. She didn't look at me in an angry way, she simply looked hurt. I may be a bitch, but I was nothing if not a loyal friend. And I was disappointed in myself because there was no trace of that loyal friend in that moment. I was totally betraying Alice, because I could tell in her face that she knew right away something was not right in this situation.

She shook her head at me slowly and then turned on her heal and stormed out of the room, Jasper trailing along behind her.

"She'll come around." Esme said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

I looked at her and tried to give her a smile as I fought the tears threatening to well up in my eyes.

"I'm going to go fix myself a drink. Does anybody want anything?" Carlisle asked.

"No, I'm alright." Esme answered.

"Nah, I'm going to go put my laundry in the utility room." Emmett answered before walking out of the room with his laundry bag.

"I'm set." Edward said, holding up his glass of whiskey.

"Me too." I said, lifting my own drink and then taking a sip.

Carlisle left towards the kitchen and Esme took my left hand in hers.

"Edward!" She said in an accusatory tone. "You proposed without a ring?"

"Of course I had a ring, mother. What kind of man do you think I am?" He asked, smiling as he reached into the pocket I knew had my ring in it that he'd picked up the day before. "We just didn't think that Bella should wear it over here since we hadn't told you yet."

He opened up the box and extended it towards his mother. She gasped and took it in her own hands to get a better look.

"Oh, Edward! It's beautiful! You did well, son! I'm proud!"

"Thank you. It looks even more gorgeous on her hand."

"Oh, I want to see! Will you put it on, dear?" She asked me.

"Sure." I said, forcing a smile.

Edward took the box back from Esme, took the ring out of it, and then closed it and returned it to his pocket. He took my left hand and slid the ring smoothly onto my ring finger. It was just as beautiful as I remembered, but I couldn't get excited about it when all I could think about was Alice.

"Oh, it's gorgeous! You were right, Edward. It looks even better on."

"I'm glad you like it." He said, smiling at her.

"I have to go call your grandparents and Aunts and Uncles! Everyone is going to be thrilled!"

And then she scurried out of the room and down the hall, leaving Edward and I alone. As soon as she was gone I tugged the ring off and shoved it back into Edward hand.

"Put it away. I don't want to wear it right now."

"Why not?"

"I just don't, okay? You're sister, and my _best friend_, already hates me enough. I don't need to be flaunting it in front of her face when she comes back in."

Edward sighed and took the ring, putting it back in the box.

"I'm sure everything will be fine."

"No it won't, Edward! She may be your sister, but you don't know her. She's not going to be 'fine' with me marrying her pretentious, conceited, asshole brother when she obviously knows something is up."

"I thought that we were going to get through this evening and you weren't going to back out."

"I didn't say anything about backing out, did I?" I snapped, going to get my bag off of the couch and dig out my cigarettes. "I'm just not wearing that ring in front of your sister. I'm going outside. I need a cigarette. And please don't follow me." I said, brushing past him to walk towards the back door.

I didn't want to wear my ring because I didn't want to flaunt my engagement to Edward in front of Alice's face when she came back in, but I would soon come to realize that Alice wasn't coming back in that night. I knew that she would be suspicious about our announcement, but I'd never thought about the possibility that in marrying Edward…I might be sacrificing my relationship with my best friend.

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**A/N:**

**Well hot damn.**

**You guys delivered, so I delivered! You made my review goal that I set, so I gave you another chapter this weekend. **

**See? Bribery can be a beautiful thing. Therefore, I'm going to do it again. But this time, I have to up the ante. Last chapter brought in a total of 127 reviews. So, we should be able to add just 5 more reviews with no problem. We're at 411 right now, so if we can get to 542…you guys will get another chapter Tuesday night. **

**So there you go! 542 is the magic number!**

**I'm not going to be one of those annoying people who say they won't update at all until you meet their review goal. It's simply just an incentive for a fast update.**

**My incredible beta, **_**GinaJas**_**, decided to make a thread for this story on Twilighted. I can't post links in chapters so I don't know how to tell you how to get to it, but try to find it and check it out! Thank you, G! You're amazing!**

**Jenna**


	7. Made My Own Bed

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Character names nor do I own Twilight or anything pertaining to it. **

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_**(Previously...)**_

_"I'm sure everything will be fine."_

_"No it won't, Edward! She may be your sister, but you don't know her. She's not going to be 'fine' with me marrying her pretentious, conceited, asshole brother when she obviously knows something is up."_

_"I thought that we were going to get through this evening and you weren't going to back out."_

_"I didn't say anything about backing out, did I?" I snapped, going to get my bag off of the couch and dig out my cigarettes. "I'm just not wearing that ring in front of your sister. I'm going outside. I need a cigarette. And please don't follow me." I said, brushing past him to walk towards the back door._

_I didn't want to wear my ring because I didn't want to flaunt my engagement to Edward in front of Alice's face when she came back in, but I would soon come to realize that Alice wasn't coming back in that night. I knew that she would be suspicious about our announcement, but I'd never thought about the possibility that in marrying Edward…I might be sacrificing my relationship with my best friend._

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I made my way to the back yard and sat down on the small set of steps that led down from the porch to the garden. I shoved a cigarette into my mouth and lit it up, taking a deep drag. I felt horrible about Alice's reaction to my engagement with Edward, but there was no going back now. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to this arrangement with Edward, so I would just have to suck it up when it came to the ramifications of that decision.

I'd made my bed, and now it was time to lay in it.

I only had about two minutes to sit out on those steps alone before Edward made an appearance. He sat down right next to me on the same step while simultaneously lighting up his own cigarette. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I thought I told you not to follow me out here."

"I know. But if you haven't figured it out by now…I do things on my own accord."

"Right, how could I forget?" I mumbled.

I took another long drag and turned to look out over the garden.

"Did you mean what you said inside?" He asked quietly after a minute.

"What part?"

"Do you really think that I'm a pretentious and conceited asshole?"

I looked over at him to find him looking at me intently. He seemed to be really interested in my answer. Something was different about his expression. He didn't look like he usually did. He wasn't as composed and collected. It actually took me quite a few moments to discern what the look on his face was.

"Edward Cullen, did I _hurt your feelings_?" I asked, amused.

"No. I don't care what you think." He said, a little bit of his collectiveness coming back. "At least, I don't care what you really think. I only care about what you make it look like you're thinking. I was merely just curious if that's really the impression that you've gathered of me."

I sighed and took another puff on my cigarette, thinking that over.

"No." I finally answered. "I think that sometimes you act like a pretentious and conceited asshole, but that doesn't define who you are."

"Hmm" He answered as he lifted his cigarette to his lips.

"Does that answer your question?"

"I suppose. I can sort of relate it to the way I feel about you. For example, sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass. But that doesn't define who you are. You're not _just _a pain in the ass."

"If I'm a pain in the ass, then why are you marrying me?" I asked, amused.

"Let's not get into that. You know good and well why I'm marrying you. And just as with your reasons, it has nothing to do with my feelings about your character."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't like you…quite the opposite, actually."

I rolled my eyes, not believing that for a second.

"You don't have to pretend to like me, Edward. I've already agreed to our arrangement and that's not part of the deal."

"I'm not pretending. I know we have our moments where we really irritate each other, but that's only because we're so much alike. We both have strong, driven personalities. We're bound to clash from time to time. It's inevitable."

I laughed even though nothing was particularly funny and looked over at him.

"We're crazy for getting married, aren't we?"

"No. We're geniuses. This will be a good thing. Trust me."

I faced forward again and sighed.

"Do you think that we went about telling your family the wrong way?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we didn't really have a plan or anything. Do you think we should have come up with a more convincing and detailed back story about our supposed relationship?"

"No. I think we did just fine. A long and detailed back story isn't going to be what convinces them we're in love. It will be what they witness. Actions mean much more than words. We just have to make an effort to appear to be in love when we're around them."

I sighed again and chewed on the inside of my lip.

"I guess I didn't do a very good job of that in there. I can't expect you to convince them all by yourself. It will probably take both of us."

"Yes, it will. And that's why I need you to be dedicated to this."

I turned and looked at him in what I hoped was an apologetic way.

"I'm sorry. I know I committed to this and I'm just as much a part of it as you are. I really do want to do this, so I'll try to do a better job being more into it."

"Thank you."

I didn't only feel the need to apologize for not doing my part in our little charade of an engagement, but I also felt like I should apologize for being a complete bitch to him all evening. I didn't particularly like Edward, but we were a team in this. And after he asked me if I really thought he was a pretentious and conceited asshole, I felt a little bad about saying it. This man was about to give me so much. To be honest, he was giving me more than I was giving him. Bitchiness may be my natural personality, but considering all the ways I was benefiting from my partnership with Edward…the man deserved a bit of my respect.

"I, uh…I'm sorry for calling you a pretentious and conceited asshole. I was just upset about Alice's reaction and I guess I took it out on you."

He shrugged while mid-drag on his cigarette.

"That's okay." He said after pulling the cigarette away from his lips. "You're right. I am a pretentious asshole."

_Well I'm not going to argue when you're so willing to admit it…_

"Actually, I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you today in general. I know we really piss each other off sometimes, but we should at least try to be friendly if this is gonna work out."

"Yes, we should. And I appreciate your apology."

"Yeah…no problem" I mumbled.

I butted my now finished cigarette and then picked up a stray stick from the step I was sitting on and played with the ashes on the cement. I let out a long sigh as I thought about that hurt expression on Alice's face that I couldn't seem to get out of my mind.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked after a while of silence.

"I just don't want your sister to hate me. I know that it seems like I don't care about relationships and friendships and stuff, but Alice is really important to me."

"I'm sure she'll come around. She's just surprised, that's all."

"No, Edward. That's not all." I said quietly. "Look at it from her perspective. Either way I'm betraying her. To her, if the story we just fed them all in there is true…then I've been lying to her for months about dating a member of her own family. But if there is something fishy going on with our story, which I'm pretty sure she thinks, then I'm deceiving her that way. Either way I'm being a shitty friend."

"Well that part is inevitable. We knew things like that may happen when we got into this. That's just part of the trade off."

"Yeah, but…I don't know how to get her to forgive me. Especially without coming clean about this whole thing…which I know isn't an option, by the way. Don't worry."

"She'll forgive you. Alice is the most kind-hearted person I know. All you can do now is move forward. She might be upset with you for a little while because she thinks you've been lying to her about seeing me, but she'll get over it. The best thing you can do now for your friendship is to do everything you can to make her believe that your engagement is for legitimate reasons. As long as she thinks we're in love and that you're happy with me, she'll get over the whole sneaking around to date me thing."

"Maybe you're right." I sighed. "That's probably the best thing for me to do at this point."

"It'll all be worth it in the end. Just trust me." He said, moving his hand to rub across my lower back in a soothing type gesture.

I turned my head to look at him over my shoulder with one eyebrow raised. There was nobody around us. That was the first time that he touched me while we were completely alone, and although I knew our relationship wouldn't stay hands-off for much longer…I was still a little surprised for some reason.

"What?" He asked with a smirk. "Am I not allowed to touch my fiancé?"

"I didn't say anything." I said softly.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to try and at least get a little more comfortable with each other. We are going to be engaging in a, uh…_different_ kind of relationship soon."

"Yeah, spouses with benefits." I said with a joking smile.

"Exactly." He said, laughing a little with his hand still on my back. "And it wouldn't hurt to show a little bit of affection in front of my family either. We want to make this as convincing as possible."

Before I got the chance to answer him, I heard the sound of the back door opening behind us. I was already looking back over my shoulder, so I could see that it was Esme. As she closed the door behind herself, Edward turned to look over his shoulder as well.

"I just wanted to let you two know that dinner is ready." She told us with a warm smile.

"Good. I'm hungry. I didn't have very much to eat today." Edward said, standing up.

He turned back around to face me and extended his hand in an offer to help me up. I took it and stood up, but Edward didn't release my hand once I was on my feet. Instead, he intertwined our fingers together and held it firmly in his. Esme glanced down at our linked hands and her smile immediately widened, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she just turned and walked back towards the door with Edward and I following behind her.

Alice and Jasper never returned for dinner. I had no idea where they went, and nobody mentioned them the rest of the night. So it was just Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Edward, and I for dinner. It was a strange feeling to be eating with the whole family without Alice there. I'd never really spent any time with them sans Alice, and it was really weird at first. Esme Cullen was nothing if not a warm spirit, however. Maybe she sensed my nervousness and tried extra hard to make me feel accepted, because I certainly did. Without Alice there, nobody was judgmental or intolerant of our news. In fact, Emmett and his parents seemed to be excited about our announcement. And even though thoughts of an upset Alice were looming in the back of my mind the whole time, the attitude of the other Cullens made me feel a lot better.

"So does your family know about your engagement yet, Bella?" Esme asked about halfway through dinner.

"No, not yet." I answered. "You guys are the first people we've told. So I guess my parents will be next."

"Have you two thought about a particular date?" Carlisle asked. "Or I guess what I'm really asking is how long to you plan on the engagement being."

"Well, we actually plan on a rather short engagement." Edward answered. "But we of course want to allow some time for planning. So I think we've decided on about three months from now."

"Three months?" Carlisle asked. "Wow. That really is short."

Edward took a sip of water as he nodded. I started to wait to see how he would respond, but then decided maybe _I_ should say something since I had vowed to try to make more of an effort in this charade. So, I took a sip of water and then looked over at Edward with a big smile.

"Well, when you're in love as much as Edward and I are…you don't want to wait a moment longer than necessary to start a life together."

"Oh, that is just precious." Esme said, smiling and putting her hand over her heart.

Edward smiled back and I thought I saw a hint of amusement on his face. He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss the back of it.

"Isabella is absolutely right. Everything has happened so fast thus far. Why slow things down now? We just know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we're meant to be together."

"Ugh. You guys are gonna make me puke in my pasta." Emmett said, crinkling his nose at us in disgust.

"Well I'm glad you two have found such happiness together." Carlisle said.

"We definitely have." I agreed.

"Well it sounds like we need to get to planning! There's a lot to do!" Esme said excitedly.

"Indeed there is." Edward answered. "And we were hoping that you would want to help out with the planning, mom."

"Oh, of course I would!" She beamed. "I can't believe I'm going to be planning my first child's wedding!"

"I know. It makes you feel old, doesn't it?" Carlisle said, smiling at her.

"In a way yes, but it's so worth the happiness this brings me!"

"I'm glad you're so excited." Edward said to her.

"Oh, Edward. I can't even begin to tell you how overjoyed I am. To be honest, I was starting to worry that you would never settle down. But I just know that you and Bella are going to be so happy together."

"We can only hope to have a marriage as wonderful as you and Carlisle do, Esme." I said to her.

She beamed at me from across the table with bright eyes.

"You are going to make such a beautiful bride, Bella."

"Yes, she is." Edward agreed.

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"Well that wasn't perfect. But I would say it was fairly successful." Edward commented as we pulled up into his driveway.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess it went better than I thought it would…with the exception of Alice."

"You did well through dinner. I was impressed.

"Thanks." I said with a proud smile.

We both got out of the Aston Martin and I dug around in my bag for my car keys.

"If you have any afternoons free this week, I'd like to go on a little shopping trip to pick you up some new clothes. But you don't have to, of course. You're not obligated to do anything with me until we're married and the contract goes into effect."

"You want to go get my new clothes already?" I asked, a little surprised he wanted to do that so soon.

"Well, I'm not expecting to buy your whole new wardrobe now. But I do have some events coming up that I would appreciate you attending with me. I think it would be a good idea to be able to introduce you to my friends as my fiancé as soon as possible versus just showing up with a wife one day. And you'll need new clothes to do that."

"Yeah, I'll go with you. I mean, wasn't that the deal when you said you would give me that check for me to live off of for the next three months before the wedding?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, I'm pretty much obligated to go with you."

Edward had already given me my check, so I'd already given my two weeks' notice at work. But I also knew that part of that deal was that I go places with him as his fiancé before our wedding, so I couldn't say no to him. I was actually surprised that he even asked.

"So what afternoons do you have free this week? There's a birthday party of an associate of mine that I'd like you to attend with me this upcoming Saturday, so we need to go sometime before then."

"Either Tuesday or Thursday would be best for me. I have afternoon classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

"Thursday would work best for me. I have some afternoon meetings on Tuesday that I need to attend."

"Okay, sure. Thursday is good."

"Should I pick you up?"

"Um, can I just meet you at wherever we're going?" I asked, once again not wanting him to ever see my shitty apartment. "I'll probably just go straight from school."

"Sure, that's fine."

"Okay, so where are we going?"

"We'll be going to the Galleria. Do you know how to get there?"

"Yes." I said, rolling my eyes. "I may be too poor to _shop_ there, but I at least know how to get there."

"Okay, good. Say around…three O'clock? Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Great. I'll meet you outside of the main entrance then."

"Okay."

"Oh," He said, reaching into his pocket. "And here's the box for your ring."

I glanced down at the huge rock on my left hand as I took the box from Edward. I'd put the ring back on after dinner so Esme could ogle at it somewhere and I hadn't taken it off since.

"Thanks." I said, slipping the box into my bag.

"So how do you plan on telling your parents? I mean, do you want me to be with you? I'm more than willing to do so since you accompanied me to tell my family."

"Well, my mom lives far so I'll probably just tell her over the phone. And my Dad is going to be in town next week for a doctor appointment, so I'll probably just tell him then."

"Why is your Dad coming here to see a doctor?" He asked, confused.

"Oh, he has knee problems. And Forks is so small they don't have a specialist. So he's coming here. It's the closest major city."

"Ah, I see. Will your mother be upset if you don't tell her in person? Because I could arrange a flight if that will be a problem."

"No, I think she'll be fine. We're not that close anyway and marriage isn't really a big deal to her. A phone call should be sufficient."

"Okay. Well, do you want me to be there when you tell your father?"

"Um, I don't know. I'll think about it."

"Okay."

"I better get going. It's getting late and I still have homework to finish before tomorrow morning."

"Alright. I guess I'll see you on Thursday then?"

"Yeah. I'll see you on Thursday."

I hesitated for a moment, not sure what else to say to him, and finally ended up just smiling and walking away.

"That's all the goodbye I get?" He called after me, sounding amused.

I stopped and turned around to face him, shifting awkwardly on my heels.

"I didn't know what else to say." I explained.

He dropped his eyes slowly down over my body and then lifted them back up again to my face. I swallowed hard and bit my lip, wondering what he was thinking about what he saw.

"You know, I meant what I said about it not being a bad idea to try to get more comfortable with each other. Everything's always easier taken one step at a time."

I stood there staring at him, wondering what he was trying to say. So he wanted us to get more comfortable with each other, starting with the way I was saying goodbye to him. Did that mean that he wanted me to kiss him?" I knew that it made sense for me to kiss him, because I had already agreed to do a lot more than that with him, but it was just awkward. I'd never kissed someone before with such unconventional pretenses behind it.

"I know we should get more comfortable with each other, for obvious reasons, but I mean…is this not awkward at all to you?" I questioned.

"Aren't all first kisses awkward to a certain degree?" He asked, leaning back against the side of his car and folding his arms over his chest.

So he _did _want me to kiss him.

It's not like I was entirely opposed to kissing him. He was an attractive man, after all. I just didn't know how to go about it. Maybe it would be better to get it over with, but it just didn't feel like the right time.

"So you want me to kiss you?" I asked, deciding to just be straight up about it.

He laughed softly and shrugged. He looked so confident standing there and I was jealous of his finesse.

"You can give me whatever kind of goodbye you want to. You could just turn around and walk away right now if you want. You're not obligated to do anything with me physically until we're married. I just feel like it would make that aspect of our marriage a lot smoother to get things out of the way now."

I knew that he was right. The sooner we got the awkward 'firsts' out of the way, the less weird things would be later. But I couldn't help my nerves. It was just natural to feel them, right? So I let my mind decide on a compromise.

I walked over where he stood and he stayed completely still, obviously waiting to see what move I would make. I put one hand on his bicep and then stretched up on my toes to place a light kiss on his cheek. As I pulled away I caught a whiff of his cologne, and it smelled delicious. I shifted my eyes back up to look at his face, which had a smirk on it, and I couldn't help but smile just a little bit myself.

"Good night." I said quietly.

"Good night, Isabella."

As I turned around and walked over to my car I wondered if he was still watching me, but I didn't want to turn around and look in case he was.

I wish at the time I could have recognized that prominent moment for what it was. I would never forget the first time that I kissed Edward's cheek. It was an action that I would repeat countless times when it became my standard way to both greet and say goodbye to him. And in the end, the feeling of his soft skin against my lips and the smell of that delicious cologne would be burned into my memory forever. Looking back, I shouldn't have ever walked away from him that night. I should have just grabbed him by his shirt, drug him up to his room, and fucked his brains out.

But then my story wouldn't be what it is today.

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**A/N:**

**As you can see, baby is not here yet. A couple people asked what his name is. First name is Max, middle name is Wayne. (They are both family names.) ANY DAY NOW UNTIL I MEET HIM!**

**For those asking about LHOP, the next chapter is almost done. So calm down because I'm worried some of you on the verge of a panic attack, haha. It's just been easier to update this story right now because I have the upcoming chapters already mostly written so I just have to go back and edit and tweak things to post them.**

**If you want to find the thread for this story on twilighted, I've been told that if you just go to google and type in 'my life as a trophy wife by jennaray' it will be the first hit to pop up. So go find it!**

**Thank you to my beta **_**GinaJas**_** for everything, but mostly for just being awesome. **

**Also, if you see this story rec'd anywhere…let me know so I can thank the person :)**

**Last chapter brought home a whopping 170 reviews (!) So, we're going to up that by 15 reviews this time, because still…more people than that are subscribed. And I will never ask for more reviews than the amount of subscribers I have so I know for sure that many people are reading. So that means I want 185 reviews this time…**

…**so, magic number = 766 reviews total. I am more than confident we can hit that. And if we do, an update will be up on Thursday night.**

**I DO FEEL THE NEED FOR A DISCLAIMER, THOUGH! **

**If my baby pops out before Thursday, I obviously can't update before then. I'm sure you can all understand the inconveniences of childbirth. **


	8. Rosalie Hale

**A/N: Woohoo! Finally, my first post-baby chapter! Unlike my other story, Life Had Other Plans, I have received nothing but supportive and understanding reviews from you guys during my absence. It means more to me than you probably think, so thank you for your encouragement. Anyway, I'll say more at the bottom. Enjoy!**

*****I was going to include a little refresher at the beginning to remind everyone what's happened thus far, but it would just be too long. If you need a reminder, I suggest you back and skim through the previous chapters.**

**Disclaimer : I own nothing related or pertaining to Twilight. None of these character names are mine. **

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I stood in my bathroom and admired my reflection in the mirror. I was all dolled up in a fancy dress that cost more than my car payment, and I had to admit…I looked sexy. My dress for my first party to ever attend with Edward made me look all kinds of hot. It was a deep fuchsia colored V neck, floor length chiffon dress that clung to my waist perfectly and then flowed out in the skirt with pleats. I paired my new dress with my new pair of strappy, black heels and put my hair up in a loose bun of curls at the nape of my neck.

I had mixed feelings about the results of my first shopping trip with Edward. The clothes we got weren't as comfortable as my old ones, nor were they my usual style by any means, but I couldn't deny that they looked good on me. Everything we bought was flattering on me, and we got a lot more than I expected we would. Edward had insisted on going to each and every one of the stores at the galleria that he deemed good enough for me to wear. That list included places like Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys, Burberry, Lacoste, and Nordstrom.

Edward was oddly hands-on in my selection of clothes. He wanted to see every individual thing after I tried it on and was very adamant about what he liked and disliked. I was pretty choosy myself and, because we seemed to have very different taste, we made sure to buy anything that we agreed looked good on me. I was worried that I would absolutely abhor any of the clothing that Edward wanted me to wear, but some of it wasn't so bad. I still preferred my comfortable and worn in attire, but I didn't hate my new wardrobe as much as I thought I would.

Unfortunately, the heaps of clothing that I made it home with were definitely not going to fit in my shitty little closet with my other clothes that I was still not ready to part ways with. So, all of my shopping bags ended up stacked in the corner of my room.

Edward and I had mutually decided that for my first event on his arm, I would be wearing a dress from Neiman Marcus…hence how I ended up standing in my bathroom, gawking at my reflection. I didn't even look like myself, but I kind of liked. I looked sophisticated, refined, and…important?

I flicked off the light and returned to my bedroom, going to grab my keys and the little black clutch that I actually happened to own prior to my shopping trip with Edward. Since I was _still_ determined not to ever let Edward see my apartment, I would be driving myself to his castle of a home and we would be departing from there.

As I drove to Edward's house, I was actually excited…but also a little nervous. I had that exciting feeling that you always have when you're about to experience something new and you don't know what to expect. And since I was in my fancy dress and was all done up, I kind of felt like I was playing dress-up.

The house looked gorgeous, just as always. Lights that were hidden in the landscaping illuminated the front of the house, making it look incredibly homey. I parked my car off in a spot in the circular driveway where I decided it probably wouldn't be in the way and then I got out and made my way up the steps in front of the massive front door. I knocked and waited, expecting the housekeeper to answer, so I was surprised when it was Edward standing in the entry way as the door opened. He stood to the side and opened the door wider, granting me entry.

_Granting me entry...hmm…I like that. I'm starting to sound like I belong in Edward's group of stiffs already._

"You look nice." He commented as I walked in.

His tone sounded more like he was just being polite and saying what he thought he should as opposed to actually meaning what he said.

"Thanks. So do you."

He really did look nice. He was wearing an expensive looking suit that fit him perfectly. His hair was perfectly disheveled and as he shut the door behind me his scent was wafted towards me, revealing that he was wearing that delicious smelling cologne of his. I totally understood why girls flocked to him. He was rich as shit and he was undeniably sexy. I might have fallen victim to his charm too if he would just keep his mouth shut.

"The car should be here in about ten minutes." He said, referring to the car and driver that he had arranged to come and get us.

I started to pick up on a different kind of vibe from Edward than usual. Instead of being his usual pretentious and condescending self, he seemed irritated and on edge. He'd only said a few words to me, but his expression seemed annoyed.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, wondering what his problem was.

"Yes, everything's fine." He said, looking down to adjust the cuffs of his jacket.

His jaw seemed to be clenched and his lips formed a hard line.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of, like…pissed off."

He sighed and glanced over at me.

"I'm fine. I just had a frustrating day of work today."

"You worked? It's Saturday. Don't nine to five jobs usually only happen Monday through Friday?"

"I work much longer than nine to five Monday through Friday, Isabella. I've dedicated myself to many different business ventures. And it takes up a lot of my time and energy."

"Okay, so what was so frustrating about your day?"

"Well, apparently some of the people I've hired to work for me are incompetent at doing their job. I suppose that phrase, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, is true."

"Oh. Did something really bad happen?" I asked curiously.

His expression then softened all of the sudden and he looked over my body, seeming to really look at me for the first time since he'd answered the door. He smiled, walked over to me, and brushed a loose piece of hair out of my face.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." He assured me. "You're job is just to hold my hand and look pretty. Speaking of which, you _do_ look very lovely…"

"Thanks…" I mumbled, surprised by his sudden shift in mood.

_Maybe Edward is bipolar…_

"Come on." He said, taking my hand in his. "I want you to meet Cecilia. Formally, I mean."

"Have you told her about us?" I asked as he led me by the hand towards the kitchen.

"Yes. I told her that we've been dating in secrecy and that I've proposed to you."

"And she didn't find that a little fucking weird? I mean, doesn't she wonder why she's never seen me around here before?"

"Don't worry. I gave her a very convincing story. And as far as you never being around here, I told her that I made sure to only have you here when nobody else was around since our relationship wasn't public."

"And she bought that?"

"Although I have a great deal of respect for Cecilia, she's still my employee. It's not really her place to question my personal life."

"Right" I mumbled as we approached the entry way to the kitchen.

We walked into the kitchen to find Cecilia standing at the sink, doing dishes.

"Cecilia, I'd like to formally introduce you to Isabella." Edward said as we entered.

She immediately turned around and smiled at us. She turned off the water, pulled off her rubber gloves, and then dried her hands and came over to us.

"Of course, of course" She said, her eyes taking me in with a big smile on her face.

I was a little taken aback when she came over and enveloped me in a huge hug, but I didn't want to be rude so I hugged her back.

"It's, um, nice to meet you." I said, feeling awkward.

"Oh, I'm so happy! I don't know how you two kept this all a secret…sneaky, sneaky…"

She spoke with a bit of a Hispanic accent, so it was a little difficult to understand her. Thankfully, I could just barely make everything out enough.

"It certainly was difficult." Edward said as Cecilia released me. "But it was worth it. And now that we know we want to be married, we want everyone to know about us."

"And look at that ring!" She said, grabbing my left hand and holding it up to examine it closer. "It's so beautiful!"

"Yes, it is." I said, smiling down at my ring.

It was easily the most beautiful thing I owned at the time.

"You did good, Mr. Cullen!" She said, going over to kiss Edward's cheek.

"I'm glad I made you proud." He said, kissing her cheek at the same time she did his.

"When is the wedding going to be?" She asked, pulling away from him but keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"We haven't set a specific date, but we're aiming for about three months from now. And of course you'll be there, right?" He asked, smiling at her.

I found it strange the way that Edward's demeanor was around Cecilia. He seemed lighter than usual and I was surprised that even though she worked for him, he wasn't all that professional with her. In fact, he sometimes seemed more professional with _me_ than he was with her.

"Of course I'll be there!" She said as if she were offended by the thought of _not_ being there. "I wouldn't miss that for anything!"

"Good. Isabella and I will be leaving for the evening in just a few minutes. So I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Where are you kids headed tonight? You both look fabulous."

"Thank you." Edward answered. "We're going to be attending the birthday party of one of my colleagues."

"Well, you have a good time." She sad, patting his cheek in a motherly type gesture.

Before Edward could answer, his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of the pocket of his dress pants and pressed the answer button.

"Hello?" He said into the receiver."Okay." He answered after a moment. "Thank you. We'll be out in a moment."

"Is your car here?" Cecilia asked.

"Yeah, he just pulled up. Are you ready, Isabella?" He asked me.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said with a nod.

"Have a good time!" Cecilia answered. She went to kiss Edwards cheek once again and then surprised me by kissing my cheek. "It was so nice to finally be introduced to you!" She said to me happily.

"You too" I answered.

"Shall we?" Edward asked, putting his phone back in his pocket and extending his hand to me.

I put my hand in his and after we both said a final goodbye to Cecilia, he led me out to the car that was waiting for us. I kind of expected there to be a limousine waiting for us and a chauffeur waiting to open the door like you see in movies, but I was glad to find that things weren't _that _showy around here. As opposed to a limousine, there was a more modest black town car waiting for us. The driver was waiting for us in the driver seat, and I was thankful that I wouldn't have to stand there awkwardly while he opened my door for me even though I was obviously capable of doing it myself. Instead, Edward opened the door for me and then gestured for me to get in. I did so and then he closed the door and walked around to the other side.

"Thank you for arranging something a little lower key than a limousine with a fancy butler looking guy waiting to the open the door." I said after he shut his door.

"Oh, come on. I'm not _that_ ostentatious." He said, laughing quietly.

As the car starting moving down the winding driveway and out onto the main road, my excitement began to be replaced with nervousness. I may have been dressed up as the part, but I wasn't _really_ the part. How would I actually be able to interact with Edward's friends? Would they see right through me and look down own me as the low class citizen that I really was? And what about Edward? Would he regret his proposition and call it all off once he realized that I wasn't _really_ trophy wife material?

I jumped a little in surprise when I suddenly felt Edward's hand on my face, gently pulling my bottom lip out from between my teeth. I hadn't been conscious of the fact that I was biting it until he did so. I turned my head to look at him and found him looking back at me with a crooked smile on his face.

"You're going to ruin all of that pretty lip gloss you have on." He said quietly.

"Well good thing I brought back up." I said, lifting my clutch in explanation.

"What are you thinking about? You looked quiet concentrated just now. And I find that you biting your lip tends to precede you voicing a concerned thought." He said, dropping his hand back down to his lap.

I shrugged and turned to look out the window.

"I was just wondering if I'll be able to convince everyone there that I really am engaged to you."

"I'm sure there won't be a problem. Friends don't usually ask for background information and details of a relationship upon an engagement announcement, do they?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I mean, will they really believe that someone like me would be with someone like you? Will I be able to convince them that I belong there? I know that the people that will be there tonight aren't really my crowd. I guess I'm just hoping I'll be able to blend in somewhat…not look too out of place, you know?"

I looked back over at him to find him with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I have confidence that you'll blend in just fine. You'd be surprised how deficient and feebleminded most of the women that you'll meet tonight will be…not to mention artificial. Conversation with them will likely consist of the latest trends in designer handbags and mindless gossip. It won't take any intellect to intermix with them."

I felt my mouth fall open a little in surprise that he just said that to me.

"I-I uh…" I stumbled a bit due to being slightly taken aback. "I didn't mean that I thought I would be inferior to everyone by being _stupid._ That was a really condescending thing to say." I said, clearly offended.

His eyes widened just slightly as if he were surprised by my reaction.

"I'm sorry. I honestly wasn't trying to insult your intelligence. I didn't say that _you're_ feebleminded. I said the women you would meet tonight are feebleminded. And I didn't say that you don't have intelligence. I just said that it wouldn't take any to socialize with the other women. There will be some very intelligent and educated men there, but you won't be expected to measure up to them. Not that you _wouldn't_ measure up to them. All I'm saying is that you'll only be compared to all of the materialistic and incompetent women there. And that won't be a problem for you at all, because you actually have depth to you. I really don't view you as dense or ignorant in the least."

"Good, because I'm not. I happen to be a business major with a four point oh grade point average."

"I'm sorry. I should have been aware of the offense you may have heard in my statement, but it truly was not intentional. On the contrary, I think you're a very sharp young woman."

"I am. I didn't mean that I didn't think I would measure up to anyone intellectually. I meant socially."

"You won't have any problem measuring up to anyone at all. You look gorgeous and you're a very well-spoken young woman. You carry yourself well. If I was going to feel anything other than confident having you on my arm this evening, I wouldn't be bringing you. Actually, if I wasn't going to feel confident having you on my arm…I wouldn't have asked to marry me."

"Are you some kind of chauvinistic sexist asshole or something?"

"What? No. Of course not, why would you even ask that?"

"Because you keep going on about how the men will be competent and educated, but the women are all airheads. Is that how you view society? Men are the breadwinners and women are just supposed to look pretty on their arms?"

"No, that's just how I view _my_ society. The only men that I socialize with are very wealthy. Beauty, class, and charm are the only things they look for in a wife."

"So that's how you view the society you matriculate in, and you thought that I would make a good wife to be part of that?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"Now you're just trying to see insult where there isn't any implicated. I didn't say that _I_ only look for those things. You know that our marriage is designed to be much different than any of the conventional sort."

"Whatever…" I mumbled, turning to look out of the window again.

"Are you unhappy with what you feel my intentions are, Isabella? Because time to back out is becoming scarce"

"I'm not backing out, okay? And stop asking me if I'm going to call it off, because I'm not. Just drop it."

"Gladly."

"Good."

We were quiet for a long time, and I simply tried to focus on the view out of my window instead of dwell and Edward's asshole-ish statement. I really believed that he didn't mean to insult me, so I don't know why I let it get to me even after I told him to just drop it. Looking back, I can now say that it was probably my own insecurities concerning if Edward found me inferior to _him_ in intelligence. But at the time, I had no real insight into my defensiveness. All I knew was that I wanted it to be very clear to Edward that I wasn't some bimbo who would never make it anywhere in life without marrying into a rich family. I was not that girl, and I wanted that made crystal clear.

"I like how quick you are to defend yourself, Isabella. You have a good sense of who you are. I admire that."

"Thanks." I mumbled, not wanting to get into another conversation.

"I didn't know that your major is business. Or that you do so well in school."

"Yeah" I mumbled again.

I think after that he caught on that I didn't want to talk, because he made no other comments. In fact, we sat in silence for the remainder of the drive. The only noise that could be heard in the car was the sound of the keys on Edward's Blackberry clicking as he typed away on it. I sat looking out the window the whole way, reflecting on my distaste for presumed male supremacy in our world.

_It's all thanks to those damn fairytales and princess stories. Thanks a lot, Disney._

When we pulled up at a house that may have even been bigger than Edward's, which I went ahead and assumed was our destination, I decided that maybe taking the immature route and ignoring Edward wasn't the way to go that night. After hall, he was the only person that I would know at this party. I wasn't in the position to be burning bridges and then not having anyone to talk to at a party where I had nothing in common with anyone.

"Whose house is this?" I asked, breaking our silence. "The person who the birthday party is for, is somebody else hosting?"

"The party is for a man named Peter Baratelli. And no, this is not his house. I've never been here before, but I believe it belongs to a personal friend of his. The name of the host was on the invitation, but I don't remember what it was."

"Oh. I assumed this was just a work party."

"Well, I'm sure most of the people there will be business associates regardless. Peter is just as committed to his business as I am to mine. I think that's the reason that I was invited, actually. He's been trying to get me to sign on as an investor for a luxury hotel he wants to open here in Seattle."

"Are you going to do it?"

"Probably not."

"Then why are you even coming to this party? What happened to your 'I don't involve myself in anything that doesn't benefit me business-wise' speech? I mean, I thought you don't like socializing for uh…social reasons only."

"Well it's not like Peter is the only businessman that will be here. Other associates and clients of mine will be here too. And besides, I rather like Peter. He's a decent guy. I suppose even if this was purely socializing, it wouldn't kill me to do so for one evening."

I gasped dramatically and raised my hand to my chest, feigning surprise.

"Do you mean to tell me that the almighty, uptight Mr. Edward Cullen isn't as heartless as he appears after all?"

Instead of being offended like I half expected, Edward just laughed softly and shook his head.

"Are you ready to go inside?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just…will you promise me something?"

His eyebrows pulled together a little with curiosity, but he smiled nonetheless.

"What?"

"Just…promise not to leave me by myself? I mean, of course, unless you have to go to the bathroom or something. It's just that I'm not going to know anybody, and I know that I'm not _really_ going to fit in, so I just don't want you to wonder off with somebody else and then I'm stuck wondering around aimlessly all night."

He laughed again, this time shaking his head as well.

"You're a piece of work, Isabella. You know that?"

"What?" I asked, hearing the defensiveness in my voice.

"One minute you're going on about how you can handle yourself and the next you're sitting here all doe-eyed and innocent, asking me not to leave your side all night."

"Oh, come one…" I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I am _not_ doe-eyed and innocent."

"You're either severely bipolar or really fucking adorable."

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with. Just don't fucking leave me alone."

I didn't wait to hear what his answer was or if he had one. I simply just opened my door and got out of the car. Edward was at my side in a flash, however, mumbling something about my impatience. He thanked the driver, arranged for him to return for us in a few hours, and then slipped his arm around my waist and led me towards the front door.

"Ready?" He asked as we ascended the stone steps to the door.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Eduardo."

"You were pretty convincing the other night at dinner with Emmett and my parents. Just act like you did then and we should be fine."

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it covered. Don't worry."

When we got to the door Edward reached out to ring the doorbell while keeping his other arm around my waist. The door was immediately opened by a butler looking dude who ushered us inside and then closed the massive piece of wood behind us again.

"May I take your coat for you, sir?" he asked Edward, gesturing towards his suit jacket.

"No, thank you. I'll keep it on me."

We couldn't have been in the house more than sixty seconds, not even long enough to make it through the foyer, before we approached by another butler looking dude who was holding a tray of champagne filled glasses. He offered it to us and Edward took two, handing me one.

"Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails are being served in the main dining room, straight here to your left." The butler dude informed us.

"Thank you." Edward said, giving him a slight nod.

I smiled at the man and then allowed Edward to whisk me off into his world with his people.

As soon as we entered the dining room where all of the people were mingling, I understood what Edward had meant when he said that everyone in his social circle was a couple. He must really _have_ been the only single person, because it seemed that every woman there was hanging on some man's arm.

It was disgusting.

"Cullen! How are ya, kid!"

I heard Edward sigh next to me as a short and corpulent man, seemingly in his fifties or so, bustled his way over to us. I looked over at Edward just in time to see him as he plastered a tight, fake smile onto his face.

"Randall." Edward said, acknowledging him with a polite nod. "I'm doing well. And yourself?"

"Oh, can't complain, can't complain."

Once Randall was right in front of us Edward used his free hand, the one that was not at the time resting on my lower back, to reach out and shake Randall's hand. I didn't get good vibes from Randall. He was a stout, sweaty man with bad teeth and a creepy comb over.

"Randall, let me introduce you to my lovely fiancée. This is Isabella." Edward said, gesturing to me.

Randall clearly didn't try to hide the surprise on his face.

"Fiancée, huh? I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."

"Yes, well, we're very private people. But now that we're engaged I'll be showing her off more often." He said, looking over at me with a bright grin.

"Well, lovely she is indeed!" Randall said, extending his hand to me. I shook it quickly but was grossed out by his clamminess. "I'm Randall Lufkin. I do business with Edward from time to time. You've got yourself quite a catch with this one! I've never met such an accomplished lawyer and businessman at such a young age!"

"He _is_ quite amazing, isn't he?" I said, smiling widely and reaching around to my back to grab Edward's hand and hold it in my own.

"Have you set a wedding date yet?" He asked.

"Not yet." Edward answered. "But we want a short engagement. We'll probably set a date for just a few months from now."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll be waiting for my invitation!" He said with a sleazy wink.

"You do that." Edward said with a curt smile.

"Well, I'm going to go find myself a glass of champagne. Congratulations on your news, Cullen."

"Thank you, Randall."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Isabella." Randall said, nodding towards me.

"Likewise." I said, smiling back.

As soon as Randall walked away I wiped the hand that I had used to shake Randall's on my dress, grossed out.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but he seems like a total creep." I mumbled to Edward.

"No apology needed. He _is_ a total creep. I don't even know why he's here."

"Why do you do business with him if he's such a creeper?"

"I don't. Well, I did…once. It was a mistake. As you can see, he likes to exaggerate our involvement with each other. But I wouldn't touch a contract with that man with a ten foot pole. He's up to his eyeballs in debt, but tries to retain a suave persona. It's all a guise, though. I'm not fond of him at all."

"Me neither."

I met several more people after Randall, mostly couples, but they all bored me to death. I briefly met the man that the party was being thrown for, along with his wife, but Edward barely had time to introduce us before he was whisked off into conversation with someone else. While none of the people I met were as sleazy or undesirable to be around as Randall, they were all…_bland_. Some of the men were _okay_, but all of their wives were total wet blankets. One man that Edward had told me that he actually liked, Richard, had a particularly disinteresting wife. Her name was Diane, and I would rather take a calculus test than try to uphold a conversation with her. I tried, I really did, to make nice with her while Edward and her husband talked business. But there was no hope. She had no personality and she spoke so softly I could barely hear her.

Things _did_ at one point begin to look up, though. A blonde man and his wife approached us from across the room, going on about how they hadn't seen Edward in ages as they did. The wife had fiery, curly red hair and a very confident demeanor about her. I wasn't sure if I would like them, but they at least seemed to have personalities. And hey, at that point, I was willing to take whatever I could get.

"Hello, James." Edward said to the man as they shook hands. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. Victoria and I just returned from Vail. We were vacationing there for a couple of weeks in our cabin."

"That sounds lovely. I hope you had a pleasant time."

"We did, thank you."

"You brought a lady tonight, Edward?" The wife asked, eyeing me curiously.

"Not just a lady…fiancée." Edward answered, smiling at her.

I was a little taken aback by how wide her eyes got as Edward said the word fiancée. Everyone I had met so far that night had been surprised, but none of them showed the reaction that she was showing.

"Fiancée?"

"Yes, fiancée." Edward repeated.

"When did this happen?"

"Well, we've been seeing each other for a while. But I just recently proposed."

"But…I mean…why didn't anyone know that you were seeing someone?"

"Victoria, please. Don't be rude." James reprimanded her.

"No, it's alright." Edward said politely. "You see Victoria, Bella is a dear friend of my sister's...and my family's for that matter. We didn't want to come forward with our relationship until we knew that we were serious. That way, if God forbid we broke up, it wouldn't affect her relationship with my family members."

"Oh." Was all Victoria had to say.

"Um, I'm Bella." I said, extending my hand to James first.

"Oh, yes, how rude of me. I didn't even tell you her name. James, Victoria, this is Isabella. Isabella, this is James and his wife Victoria."

"Very nice to meet you, Isabella." James said as he shook my hand.

"You too. But uh, you can call me Bella."

"Alright." He said with a nod.

James released my hand and then I extended it to Victoria. She glanced down at it for a second before she took it in her hand and shook it.

"I'm Victoria." She informed me. "It's such an honor to meet the woman who has finally been able to tame Edward Cullen. You've done what many before you failed at." She said, glancing at Edward pointedly.

I got the feeling that there was some tension in the air caused by information I may not be aware of, but to be honest, I really didn't give a fuck. My only concern was upholding my end of the deal with Edward and that just meant that I had to convince people we were in love and getting married. I didn't really care if Victoria had her panties in a bunch about something involving Edward or what the hell else her deal could be.

"Yup, he's great. I'm so glad that he's willing to settle down with me." I said, punctuating my statement with a smile before taking a sip of my champagne.

_I'm getting good at this lying thing…I'm like a little Edward Cullen in training…_

"Your ring is lovely." Victoria said, glancing down at my hand again as she released it.

"Thank you." I answered.

"That _is_ a very lovely ring." James agreed, also looking down at it. "That must have set you back a pretty good chuck of change, Edward." He continued, smiling as he patted Edward's shoulder.

"No price is too high for my girl." Edward answered, releasing my hand to reclaim his own hand's position on my lower back…dangerously close to my ass.

I was _almost_ certain that I heard Victoria huff, yes _huff_, in response. But I couldn't be positive. And once again, I really didn't give a fuck either way.

"Excuse me. I need to make a visit to the ladies room." Victoria said before turning on her heel and strutting away.

"I'm going to go check out the food, I'm starved. I'll catch up with you later, Cullen." James said, once again patting Edward's shoulder. "Oh and it was lovely to meet you, Bella." He added to me.

"It was nice to meet you too." I answered.

I turned to Edward once he was gone.

"Well, he was nice. But She's kind of, I don't know…jumpy?"

He sighed and looked down to adjust his cuffs.

"Yes. Victoria…she's a character alright."

"What do you mean?"

He looked back up at me and unexpectedly pulled me over to him so our bodies were brushing against each other and he was positioned to whisper in my ear. I vaguely remember hearing him say something, but his hot breath in my ear and his big, strong hands on my waist totally scrambled up any clear thoughts. My heart started beating a little faster and my nerve endings heated up.

"Bella?"

"What?" I snapped.

"Did you hear me?"

"You mumbled." I lied. "What did you say?"

"Do you see that man standing over by the window with the blonde woman in the red dress?"

I gently pushed Edward back just a little bit because one, I couldn't concentrate on anything with his body so close to mine. And two, I was _not_ okay with the way my body reacted to said closeness. He didn't say anything about me nudging him away though, so neither did I. I just ignored it and looked over towards the huge windows to see who he was talking about.

"Yeah, I see them. Why?" I asked.

"That's Riley and Tanya Biers." He said, still whispering close to my ear but not _as_ close. Tanya and James have been having an affair for years. And Victoria knows about it. They have an open marriage."

"And everybody knows about it? They like…tell people?" I whispered back, shocked.

"No. I don't know if anyone here knows other than me or not. And I'm fairly certain that James doesn't know that I know."

"Well than how do you know?"

"Victoria told me."

"Why would she tell you that? Shouldn't she be concerned that you're going to tell people?"

"She only told me because she wanted me to sleep with her. James and I both attended the same conference in Florida last summer and he brought Victoria along with him. I bumped into her at the hotel bar and she made a pass at me. I told her that I considered James a friend and that I wouldn't be comfortable engaging in any of activity of that kind with her. And then she told me that they have an open marriage and that James has been sleeping with Riley's wife, Tanya, for years."

"Holy shit. What a clusterfuck."

"I know, it's weird. I really do like James, but I have to admit that I find the idea of that lifestyle a little absurd."

I shrugged and turned back to look at Edward.

"Well, to each their own I suppose. Besides, who are we to judge? We're in the midst of planning a not so conventional marriage ourselves."

"I suppose." He agreed.

"So you didn't sleep with her then?"

"Who?"

"Victoria. You didn't sleep with her?"

"No. Like I said, I consider James a friend. So that's exactly what I told her."

"Yeah but if they have an open marriage then you wouldn't be doing wrong by him to sleep with her."

"I guess." He said with a shrug. "But it doesn't make a difference really. I'm not now nor have I ever been interested in Victoria. She's not my type."

"So are Tanya and Victoria the only women here with personalities? I mean, I realize you don't like them, but at least they're not as dull as all the others. All any of them want to talk about are their husbands, kids, or Chanel's newest collection of handbags."

He chuckled and then took a sip of champagne.

"I _told _you holding conversation with them would be mindless."

"Yeah, well, now I see what you mean. My apologies for assuming you were insulting _my _intelligence. It's obvious now that you were referring to theirs. Or lack thereof, I guess I should say."

"Exactly. And apology accepted. Oh, and to answer your question, no. Tanya and Victoria are not the _only_ women in my social circle with personalities. However, I would say there are only a handful of them. "

"Great." I huffed. "I can tell all of these events I have to go to with you are gonna be a real blast." I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.

"I'm not sure you'd get along too well with any of them, though. Well, maybe Heidi. I like her a lot. She's considerably down-to-earth. Her husband, Marcus, is a good friend of mine…one of my few real friends, actually. They're not here tonight, though. They're in Italy visiting Heidi's family."

"Well hopefully they'll be around for the next stuffy party. It'd be nice to have someone down-to-earth to talk to while you mingle with Randall sweaty hands Lufkin."

Edward laughed and slid his hand around from my lower back to rest on my hip. I was starting to realize that he was awfully touchy-feely, at least in public. Maybe he was just trying to put it out there that we were together for people wondering who I was.

"Are you hungry? I'm sure the food is good."

"No, I'm okay." I answered. "I could go for a cigarette though. Do you want to come with?"

"Sure. I think I saw a patio right past those double doors." He said, pointing across the room.

Edward slipped his hand in mine and then led me through the room full of people. The fresh air from outside felt nice as he opened one of the doors. He stepped to the side, gesturing for me to exit the room first. As I did so, I fished my cigarettes and lighter out of my clutch. I heard Edward close the door behind us as I pulled a cigarette out of the box and slid it between my lips before lighting it.

"Edward Cullen." Someone stated with a rather amused sounding tone.

I looked up and noticed a tall, slender, beautiful blonde woman looking at us. She was standing on the opposite end of the patio, perched on a brick ledge that overlooked a garden as she smoked a cigarette. Curiously, she had a mischievous look on her face. I had no idea who she was, yet she made me tense.

"Hello, Rosalie." Edward said, sounding just as tense as I felt.

"This must be your little lady." She said, looking me up and down as she flicked her cigarette onto the ground and then putting it out with bottom of her black stiletto.

They way she looked at me was…_challenging_? Almost as if she were sizing me up.

"This is my fiancée, Isabella." Edward said in a flat tone.

The way he spoke to her was strange. To everyone else that he'd spoken to, particularly when he was telling them who I was, he sounded animated and friendly. But to this woman, his tone was icy and standoffish.

Rosalie laughed almost silently to herself and then stood up, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and pranced past us towards the door that led back into the house.

"Hmm. Charming." She muttered as she past us, taking the tension with her as she left.

I thought Victoria was a weirdo with an attitude problem, but Rosalie made her look like someone I would want to be besties with.

"Can I borrow your lighter?" Edward asked. "I can't find mine. I think I left it in the car."

It took a moment for me to register what he said, because I had been expecting him to give me some sort of explanation as to what the fuck had just gone down. Instead, he was acting as if our little encounter with Rosalie wasn't strange in the least. This was surprising, especially because Edward had briefed me pretty well on what the deal was with everyone else we had come into contact with that night.

"Uh…yeah." I finally answered, handing over my lighter.

"Thanks."

If you haven't realized by now, I'm not one to allow myself to be left in the dark. If I have a question or want to know something, I'm sure as shit going to ask about it. Regardless of if it seems that the person I'm with wants to talk about it or not.

"Um, so what the hell was that about?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Who is that horrible woman and what is her problem?"

"Rosalie? That's just the way she is." Edward answered before taking a long drag on his freshly lit cigarette.

"I mean, she didn't even say one word to me. Or anything mean to you, for that matter. And yet, the way she was looking at me and the vibes she was giving off…I feel like I just watched her kill my puppy or something."

"Feisty, huh?" He said with an amused smirk.

"Whose wife is she? Have I met her husband yet? He's got to be one heck of trooper if he's married to that ice queen."

He shook his head while in the middle of another drag.

"She doesn't have a husband. She's widowed. Rosalie Hale is the one exception to what I told you about all of the mindless trophy wives you would meet in my social circle. Actually, she used to _be_ a trophy wife…but never mindless. She was married to a man named Royce…easily one of the wealthiest men in Seattle. She was his third marriage. She was in her twenties when they met and I believe he was in his fifties. He died of a heart attack about five years ago and Rosalie surprised the shit out of everyone by stepping up and taking over his business affairs. At first a lot of people suspected foul play in Royce's death, but she didn't even want his life insurance money. She divided it among his children. Then she reinvested some of his money and has been able to keep up his estate with no problem."

"Well normally I would say she sounds like a badass, but not after the cold shoulder she was giving us."

Edward sighed and stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking.

"I don't think anyone is ever antagonistic just for the sake of being antagonistic. There are two sides to every story. I'm sure Rosalie feels justified in her attitude towards us. Or me, I should say."

"What do you mean? Did you do something to piss her off?"

"Like I said, I'm sure it's not just for the sake of antagonism. But let's talk about something else. Don't you think we've heard enough business talk for one evening?"

I assumed that Edward was insinuating that his problems with Rosalie stemmed from business related shit, so I let it go. After all, he was right. After meeting all of the people that I had that evening, I heard enough of business related things to last me a lifetime.

I finished my cigarette and put it out as Edward did the same. We stayed quiet for a long time, but it wasn't awkward. We just stood there staring at the moon. I got lost in thought, and he seemed to do the same.

"I haven't spoken to Alice since that night at your parent's house." I commented after a while.

"I'm sorry that all of this has caused problems between the two of you."

I shrugged.

"It's not like I didn't know it would. And it's my fault anyway. I should have told her before everyone else. Or I should have at least given her some sort of better explanation…a better lie."

"I still have confidence that she'll come around. She cares about you, and she knows deep down that you care about her. She's not going to throw away your friendship over this. I may not spend as much time with her as I should, but I know my sister well enough to know that much."

"Thanks." I said, surprised by how much better his words made me feel. "It's reassuring that you think so."

And he was right. When I returned home from my night of dress-up, I had an email waiting from Alice.

_Bella – _

_I'm sorry I haven't been returning your calls. I hope you understand. I guess I just needed some space after what happened at Mom and Dad's. You really threw us all for a loop and I guess I was just hurt that you were hiding such a big secret from me...especially when it's my own brother. But you're still my best friend. And I still love you. I at least want to talk about things. I guess if we're going to be family we really should work this out. Can we go for coffee sometime this week? I have a lot of questions that I need to ask before I can be at peace with this._

_Talk to you soon._

_Alice._

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**A/N:**

**Again, a giant thank you to everyone who reviewed/messaged me asking me how I was doing or telling me they missed the updates but were waiting patiently. The birth of my son was wonderful, and I have been thoroughly enjoying him every day :)**

**Also, I huge thank you to ****GinaJas****, my beta for this story. She waiting patiently and was ready to go with her awesome skills when I needed her again. And boy did I need her, let me tell ya…this chapter had some horrendously stupid mistakes before she got her hands on it. Thanks Gina :)**

**I also want to say that I'm sorry if this chapter was a little bit boring (it was a little boring to write) but it was important for you all to read because we will be seeing these characters again throughout the story. Just stick with me, because it will get better again. Next chapter will be much more exciting and then the chapter after that will take a little bit of a time leap to closer in to the wedding.**

**I don't know exactly when the next update will be, but hopefully soon. I promise it will not be anywhere near how long you waited for this one.**

**Jenna**

**P.S! I'm ITCHING for 1000 reviews on this story. So if you think that this story is worth it, PLEASE GO REVIEW! As of right now I have 857. I know it's a big goal, but earlier chapters have gotten that many reviews, so I'm confident we can do it! **


	9. A New Friend, And An Old One Too

**A/N:**

**Again, I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter. Real life has been kicking my ass, but things are starting to get better. For a refresher on what's been going on, please go skim through the previous chapters. **

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If I go to hell, I know what it will be like. I'll be forced to spend eternity in math class, working logarithmic equations.

"Ugh! This problem doesn't even make any fucking sense!" I yelled at my textbook, pulling at my hair in frustration.

I was literally already reaching for my cell phone to check the time when it suddenly started vibrating right in front of my hand, startling me.

_Creepy…_

I picked up the phone and sighed when I looked at the screen to see who was calling. It was Edward's office, and I was so not in the mood to talk to him. I'd already been having a shitty day and was feeling fed up with the world. So I decided that if it was Edward's secretary who was calling me again just to put me on hold to wait for Mr. I'm-too-pretentious-to-take-thirty-seconds-to-make-a-phone-call-myself, I was just going to hang up, burn my math book, and call it a night.

"Hello?"

Fortunately, Edward actually had the decency to call me himself this time. Unfortunately, that meant I actually had to deal with him.

"Hello, Isabella. How are you?"

I sighed and started toying absentmindedly with my pencil. Why did he always have to be so damn formal sounding?

"I'm fan-fucking-tastic. What's up, Edward?" I asked, hearing the impatience in my own voice.

"I have a check to give you. And also a small list of dates I'd like you to plan on accompanying me to some events."

"Oh joy. I can't wait to see all of your friends again." I said in a monotone, sarcastic tone. "Maybe I'll even get lucky enough to see Randall."

"Well you certainly seem to be in a foul mood today. Then again, you seem to be in a foul mood _every_ day."

I sighed again, actually feeling a little bad for my bad attitude. Edward was pretty much paying me just to be a complacent wife/fiancée, and I apparently couldn't even do that right.

"Sorry. My alarm is a radio alarm and when I woke up this morning it was playing Tik Tok by Kesha."

"And that put you in a foul mood?"

"Yes. That's the most annoying song ever produced. It drives me crazy."

"I don't think I've ever heard it."

"Seriously? I feel like it's on every time I turn on the damn radio. I'm sure you've heard it before. It's the one about P Diddy brushing his teeth with whiskey or some nonsense like that…I don't know…anyway, what's the check for?"

"Because I told you that if you agreed to go to all of these functions with me before the wedding that I would give you enough money to support yourself until then without having to work. Speaking of which, have you taken care of your employment situation yet?"

"Yeah, I put in my two weeks notice."

"Good. Well, like I said, I have a check for you. Should I bring it over on my way home from work this evening?"

I wasn't fond of that suggestion because, as always, I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of Edward seeing the shithole I called home. I don't know why I felt that way, considering he obviously knew I had money issues, but I was embarrassed for some reason. It was strange, though, because I didn't feel that way with Alice. She was rich, and yet I'd let her see my apartment several times.

"Actually, I have class in a couple of hours anyway. Why don't I just swing by your office on my way there?"

"Sure, that would be fine. How soon should I expect you?"

"About an hour?"

"Okay. I'll see you in an hour then."

"Yeah, okay. Bye."

Now that I had a seriously upgraded wardrobe, I felt obligated to wear something at least moderately nice to Edward's office. He had spent a lot of money on those clothes, and therefore I felt like I should at least put them to use. Besides, I was going to his office where I would be seen by a bunch of people he was affiliated with business-wise. I figured he would probably want me to look good around them since that was the whole purpose in the new clothes anyway. I knew I probably didn't actually _have_ to obey the clothes rule until we were legally married and all of this was a done deal, but I felt that I should. And hey, why not just dive right in? I was going to have to get used to my new wardrobe rules soon anyway, so I might as well get a head start.

Not wanting to look too formal for class after seeing Edward, I selected a nice looking and ridiculously expensive pair of jeans to go along with a navy blue sweater from Ralph Lauren. It was reasonably comfortable, yet still a step up from my normal hoodie and holey jeans attire. I took a few extra minutes to freshen my makeup and then run the flat iron through my hair. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I gathered up my books and headed down to my car.

Last time I had visited Edward's office, I was sent on a fucking quest to find Edward. This time, I was much more prepared. I headed right on upstairs and since I knew my way this time around, I simply walked right by the multiple secretary desks that I passed by on my way. The desk that was right in front of Edward's door wasn't even occupied, so I just walked right over and knocked. It took about a minute for the wooden door to slowly open and then Edward's face appeared.

"Hey." I greeted him.

"Hey." He answered, smiling widely and opening the door further.

When he opened the door wider, I could see passed him and noticed that he wasn't alone. There was a man sitting at one of the chairs in front of his desk, turned around and looking at me curiously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were busy. You're secretary wasn't at her desk so I di – "

"No, no, it's okay." He said quickly, cutting me off. "Come in. I want to introduce you to someone."

"Okay." I answered.

Edward reached his hand out to me so I took it and let him usher me into the office. I was very aware of the man watching us inquisitively, so when Edward moved closer and kissed my cheek I smiled and kissed his in return.

"We were just talking about you." Edward said, still holding my hand. "Marcus, I'm very excited to introduce you to my beautiful fiancée."

I immediately recognized his name. I remembered Edward telling me at the fancy birthday party we had been to that he thought I would get along with Marcus and his wife. He said that they weren't there because they were away in Italy, but apparently they were back in town.

"Isabella, right?" Marcus asked, smiling as he stood up and extended his hand to me.

I took his hand with my free one and shook it as I returned his warm smile.

"You can call me Bella." I told him. "It's really nice to meet you. Edward speaks very highly of you."

"He speaks very highly of you as well. I started to get on his case for keeping you a secret, but then he explained the situation regarding your relationship with his family. I suppose I can understand why you two chose to keep things quiet."

"Well, like I said." Edward started to answer. "Now I know that she's the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. There's no point in keeping things quiet. I want everyone to know the way I feel about her."

I let go of Edward's hand so that I could wrap my arm around his waist as I tried not to laugh at how full of shit he was. But then Marcus started laughing, and I looked over at him curiously. Did he see through Edward's façade?

"Man, Cullen. You sure have it bad, huh?" He laughed, shaking his head. "You must be one hell of a woman, Bella." He said, now speaking to me. "I've never seen Edward act this way before."

"Well, love will do that to you." Edward answered as I laughed.

"Ain't that the truth…" Marcus said with a sigh. "I'm certainly not too much of a man to admit that my Heidi has had me head over heels since the day we met."

"It sounds like Heidi is a lucky woman." I said, smiling at Marcus.

Edward was right. I did like Marcus. I had only just met him, but he made a good first impression on me. He seemed genuine, and after the party I had been to with Edward I felt like that was a rare quality amongst Edward's friends.

"Well that's very kind of you." Marcus said, flashing me his warm smile again. "I would love for you two to meet."

"I think that would be a fabulous idea." Edward said. "I've already told Isabella that I think they would hit it off together. And speaking of which, I actually wanted to invite you both over for dinner with us this weekend."

"Oh, well, thank you for the invitation. We would love to join you."

"How does Saturday night sound?"

"That sounds fine. I'll have to double check with Heidi, but let's go ahead and plan on it."

"Alright, great. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too. I've got to get back to work, but I'll give you a call later after I check with Heidi."

"Sounds good."

"It was wonderful to meet you, Bella." Marcus said to me. "I look forward to getting to know you better."

"I look forward to getting to know you as well. And I hope you and your wife will be able to make it to dinner this weekend."

"Thank you, so do I."

"I'll talk to you soon, Marcus." Edward said as he walked him to the door. "Have a good afternoon."

After showing Marcus out and closing the door behind him, Edward turned around to face me and smiled.

"You look lovely today." He said, slipping his hands into his front pockets.

"Thanks." I answered, backing up towards his desk and then hopping up to sit on the edge of it. "I figured I might as well go ahead and test out some of my new clothes."

"I see." He said with a nod, laughing now.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You are." He answered simply.

"Why am I funny?" I asked, eying him cautiously as he started to slowly walk towards me.

"Because you just come on in here and plop yourself down on top of my desk like it's nobody's business."

"What? You don't want me sitting on your desk?" I asked, not seeing what the big deal was.

"I didn't say that." He answered.

He sauntered the rest of the way over to me, closing the gap between us. He stood right in front of where I was sitting and pulled his hands out of his pockets, placing them on the desk top on either side of my hips.

"In fact, you look quite good on top of my desk. I'll have to keep that in mind."

And then his head was tilting to the side and his lips were descending towards mine. An alarm sounded in my head as I realized what he was doing.

"What are you doing?" I asked even though I already knew perfectly well.

"I'm kissing you."

"Why?"

"Because I know you want me to."

There was no time to answer. His lips were on mine in a flash, moving gently yet insistently against my own. I felt him move his hand to take my chin and tilt my face up towards his. My mind was overloaded with thoughts. One moment he had been standing across the room and now he was kissing me. I didn't even know what to think. I knew that our first kiss was inevitable, but I didn't expect it to happen like this.

I spent a few moments trying to sort out all of the different thoughts bombarding me and it took me awhile to realize that Edward wasn't just kissing me. I was kissing him back. My lips were moving against his as well.

And then I had that feeling again. That feeling I had at the party when Edward had his hands on me and was whispering in my ear. Except this time, the feeling was way stronger. It was total sensory overload and it irritated me. Why did I feel like that? I had kissed plenty of guys in my life and plenty of times it had meant nothing. So why was I having such a problem doing it with Edward? And yet at the same time, my body was obviously feeling something completely different than my head. While my lips were steadily becoming more insistent against his, my mind was panicking over that exact fact. What was wrong with me? I had agreed to a physical relationship with Edward, so why couldn't I just take this for what it was?

_Because you've never been kissed like this before. Duh, Bella._

My inner-monologue self was right. I had never been kissed that way before. His kiss had a slightly domineering edge to it, yet his lips were still gentle and attentive at the same time. How did he do that?

_What is wrong with my stomach? _

It probably would have been easier if I hated Edward so much that kissing him made me nauseous, but that's not at all what was wrong with my stomach. The truth was that the way Edward was kissing me gave me butterflies, and that was something I was not prepared for.

I'd never know if Edward felt that same initial feeling that I did during our first kiss. I wasn't even willing to admit that feeling to myself, much less to him. I suspect that it may have been the same way for him. At least, I like to think so.

I lifted my hands until my palms were flat against his chest and then I pushed against him. He took the hint and pulled his lips away from mine, although they were still dangerously close. I didn't wait for him to step back away from me. Instead I slid down off of his desk, forcing him to move back to give me room, and immediately moved towards the window to put some space between us. I touched my lips absentmindedly, which were still tingling, and then blurted out the first subject-changing thing I could think of.

"So where's that check? I should get going. I have class."

It took a few moments longer than normal for Edward to answer me, but I didn't dare turn around to face him and see what the cause of the delay was.

"I just briefly considered apologizing for kissing you like that, but I don't think an apology is in order for something you so clearly enjoyed."

Without thinking I whipped around to face him. I regretted it when I saw he was sporting his signature cocky smirk. I wanted to slap it right off of his face. Why? Because in some twisted, messed up way…it made me want to kiss him again.

"What makes you so sure I enjoyed it?"

"Because if you hadn't enjoyed it then you wouldn't have kissed me back. At least, not like that."

"Why are you so full of yourself all the time?"

"I'm not full of myself. I'm _sure_ of myself. There's a difference."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair as I went and plopped down in the chair that Marcus had been sitting in, facing the front of Edward's desk.

"Do you not find this at all awkward? I mean, we've agreed to have this relationship that's not at all romantic, yet we're going to do intimate things like kiss and have sex? I mean, isn't that kind of contradictory? It's weird to do those things with someone you've agreed not to even explore having feelings for. It goes against human instinct."

Edward moved to perch himself against the desk, right in front of where I was sitting. He folded his arms over his chest and looked at me, totally composed as always.

"No it doesn't. Haven't you ever had a one night stand before? People have casual sex all the time. That doesn't go against human instinct."

"Yeah but exactly like you said, when people have casual sex it's called a _one night_ stand. Not a marriage."

"Not all the time. It's just like a 'friends with benefits' situation. Just because this isn't a conventional marriage doesn't mean that we have to hate each other, Isabella. Just think of us as friends with benefits."

"I guess…" I mumbled, not having a rebuttal to his point.

Edward sighed before continuing.

"That's the problem with women. The female population can't seem to grasp the concept of attraction without romantic interest. It's totally possible to have a strong physical attraction to someone and leave it at that. I'm perfectly comfortable admitting that I'm very sexually attracted to you. In fact, I feel like that's important in this arrangement. If I wasn't attracted to you then I wouldn't be willing to commit to you as my only sexual partner for a very long time. Is it wrong to simply act on that and not drag all of the other unnecessary bullshit into it? People go on dates all the time solely with the mutual intention of getting laid at the end of the night. What's wrong with instead just being upfront about our intentions?"

Surprisingly, Edward's little speech made me feel shitloads better. He was totally right. That was the perfect explanation for what I was feeling. At least, I liked to think so at the time. I was purely feeling sexual attraction. There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, he was right. That was a good thing. It was good that I was at least attracted to the person I was committing to being sexually exclusive to. We were two adults who found each other attractive, so what's wrong with acting on it? I could be on board with that.

Everything was purely physical.

I nodded confidently and looked up at him.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know what that was. I guess I just freaked out for a minute. I mean, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this weird situation we're getting into."

"I understand."

"But I still want to do this. I mean, know this is going to be good for both of us. And I'm still on board with everything I agreed to."

"Good." He said, smirking at me again.

And this time I didn't want to slap the smirk off of his face. Because I had my feelings in check and I understood what they were. Yeah that cocky smirk made me want to kiss him, but that was just because he was sexy. And there was nothing wrong with me thinking that. I wanted to kiss the man I was planning on having sex with for a really long time. So what?

In fact, it was time to take advantage of this arrangement. We did both agree to it for personal gain, after all. And I could gain a lot. For example, I was pretty sure that Edward could please me in a lot more ways than Alejandro the vibrator could.

So, with my newfound confidence and self-assurance, I stood up and closed the distance between us until I was right in front of him and our bodies were brushing against each other. I licked my lips and reached down between us to toy with the last button on his dress shirt, right above his belt buckle. I glanced up at him through my lashes to find him watching my hands with a playful smile on his face.

"You know, you're right." I said, making eye contact with him. "I _am_ very attracted to you. And it really _does_ feel good to be able to leave it at that."

"See? I told you. And isn't it relieving to know that we're going to have an outstanding sex life?"

"You don't know that." I laughed.

"Oh yes I do."

"How? We've only kissed once…"

"Trust me. I know. With your attitude? You're going to be a firecracker between the sheets. I can tell."

"Hmm…" I mused as I reached up to cup the back of his neck. "I think I like you better when you're kissing me."

I pulled his head down towards mine and this time, I kissed him.

It was the first time that I'd let loose and actually let myself be comfortable around Edward. It felt nice. I'd been so caught up in trying to get used to this crazy scheme we were getting ourselves into and it felt good to actually start reaping the benefits of our arrangement. Edward was hot and I finally was actually able to admit to myself that I wanted to kiss him without feeling weird about it. I'd hooked up with guys before and just because Edward and I had this agreement didn't mean that he had to be any different.

Now I was excited for more than just the financial gain I had coming my way.

I was pretty fucking stoked about my soon-to-be husband with benefits.

Our second kiss was much better than our first. I could physically feel the difference in my body now that I wasn't so uptight. I was less tense, and things between Edward and I were much more relaxed. Our sexual chemistry flowed freely now, uninhibited by my previous reservations.

More and more I was realizing just how much I really did like the way that Edward kissed me. In our normal interactions, Edward and I were always trying to one up each other. I felt like we both always wanted to feel like the ball was in our own court. And the way that we kissed each other was no different. Our lips were insistent and our tongues fought for dominance, each wanting to lead in the dance they were engaging in. Although our lips moved slowly, our actions still felt passionate. Our tongues dipped deeply into one another's mouths and Edward kept humming, turning me on.

So, yeah, everything was all hot and Edward was making my skin tingle…but there was still a problem. Our height difference was a bit of a buzz kill, a more prominent one the longer that we kissed. I had my arms wrapped securely around his neck while his hands rested around my hips, gently caressing my sides. I kept pulling down on his neck, trying to bring his head closer to mine, and I'm sure annoying him. He gripped my hips and kept pulling me up and towards him, trying to get me closer just like I was doing to him. I was already stretched up on my tip toes, so there wasn't much more to give.

Thankfully, Edward found a solution. He slid his hands around from my hips to my lower back and then down my ass, bending down a little as his hands settled on the back of my thighs. Then he lifted me up, turning around and placing me on his desk. He stood between my legs and took my bottom lip between his, gently sucking on it. I moaned and pulled him tightly against me, quickly resuming our kiss.

We stayed like that, making out heatedly, for a long time. All thought of any place I had to be was lost. By the time Edward pulled away, my lips were literally chapped. And he didn't even pull away completely. He kissed down my jaw, my neck, and over to my ear.

"Thank you." He whispered against my skin.

"For what?" I whispered back.

"For letting yourself go for once. It's nice to see you not so uptight for a change. I was really starting to think our first kiss was going to be on our wedding day."

I sighed and started nervously chewing on the inside of my cheek. The mention of our pending nuptials put a damper on my fresh new outlook on everything concerning Edward.

"What's wrong?" He asked, pulling back to look at me.

"Nothing, I just…you mentioning the wedding just got me thinking about everything. There's a lot I still have to do concerning…all of that."

"Well, like I told you, I'm sure my mother will be thrilled to help with the planning. I think the more hands on you let her be the better for her."

"That's not what I mean." I said, shaking my head. "I'm not worried about the planning. I still have to tell my parents. And I still need to work things out with your sister."

"Right, your parents. You haven't told them yet?"

"No. I don't want to call and tell my mom until I see my dad."

"I see. I remember you said that he's coming into town for an appointment. When is that?"

"His appointment is on Monday. He'll be here on Sunday."

"Have you decided if you'd like me to join you when you tell him?"

"I don't think so. I mean, not at first. I think he'll take it better if I tell him alone. That way I can answer all of his questions and everything. But I know he's going to insist on meeting you. So I thought maybe I could talk to him about it Sunday afternoon and then that night we could have dinner together. Is that okay?"

"Certainly. Should I make reservations somewhere?"

"Uh, no." I said, earning a questioning look from Edward. "It's just, uh, my dad isn't really the reservation type of guy. He'd be much more comfortable at some little burger joint."

"Oh, alright. Well, I guess I'll just plan on leaving my Sunday evening open then."

"Okay."

I gathered a strand of my hair and started playing with the ends as I tried to picture how things would go with my dad. That didn't last long though. Edward very quickly took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, using it to tilt my face up towards him.

"What else has got you worried? Alice?"

I sighed and nodded.

"_Especially_ Alice. She emailed me. She said she wants to meet for coffee or something and talk about everything. I tried to call her but it went to voicemail. I'm still waiting for her to call me back."

"Well that's a good thing, isn't it? Why are you still worried about her? She's clearly making an attempt to work everything out."

"Yeah but just because she wants to talk doesn't mean that she's going to forgive me. What if she just wants another opportunity to lay the guilt on me for lying to her? And she said she has questions to ask me. What if I don't have answers? What if she asks me things about our relationship? Am I going to be quick enough to come up with an answer that fast?"

Edward took a step back and sat down in the chair in front of me. I remained perched on the edge of his desk, looking down at him.

"I know that I may not be as close to Alice as most siblings are to each other, but she's still my sister. I grew up with her. I know how she is. And here's the thing. I know that you love her, as do I, but Alice can be rather self-absorbed at times. She's needy, whiney, and she always has to be the center of attention. When things don't go her way or when she feels left out of something, she has issues just letting it go. It's understandable that she, along with all of my other family members, feel somewhat blindsided by our announcement. However, I just want you to be cautious of not letting Alice get to you too much. You feel too guilty about all of this. Yes, as far as Alice knows, you've been keeping a relationship to yourself for a while. And I'm sure that bothers her. But when it comes down to it, this is between you and I. She may be annoyed that she feels left in the dark by you, but other than that you have done nothing wrong to her. You and I are getting married and at some point she's simply going to have to get over it."

I tried to see where he was coming from, and to a certain extent I did, but I could also still see why Alice was mad at me.

"Yeah, but look at it from her point of view. She feels betrayed by me. I've been lying to her about seeing her brother."

"I understand that. And I think it's great that you two are going to meet and discuss that. But my advice for you is to leave it at that. Apologize all you want for not telling her sooner about us. But if she starts trying to get into the simple fact that we are getting married, I don't think you should feel bad for that."

I understood what Edward was saying, I just didn't know if I agreed with him. His point was basically that I owed Alice an apology for hiding me and Edward's relationship from her, but that was it.

"Maybe you're right." I mumbled.

"After you've apologized to her for making her feel deceived, hold your own. The best thing you can do at this point as far as Alice is concerned is to give it your all at convincing her that we're in love and that this engagement is making you happy. If she really is your best friend, then your happiness will be what is most important to her."

"I guess. But I think it's still going to take her some time to even get used to the idea of us being in a relationship."

"Understandably."

I glanced over at the clock on the wall and immediately hopped down off of the desk.

"Shit, I have to go. I'm going to be late for my class."

Edward stood up and followed me as I made my way to the door. When I reached it I stopped and turned around to face him.

"Good luck with Alice. And let me know what plans you make for dinner with your father." He said.

"Okay."

"Oh, and I hope you're available Saturday evening. Inviting Marcus and his wife to dinner was a spur of the moment thing. I'm sorry I didn't ask you sooner."

"No, it's okay. I don't have any plans. I can come."

"Great. I'll let you know what time after I speak to him."

"Alright. I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, wait. I almost forgot about your check."

He put his hand in his pocket and then pulled out his wallet. He opened it, pulled out a small slip of paper, and handed it to me. I took it and slid it into my pocket without looking at it. It seemed awkward to look at how much it was in front of Edward. I would have felt even more awkward accepting it that way.

"Uh, thanks." I said, giving him a tight smile.

"You're welcome."

I stretched up on the tips of my toes to kiss Edward's cheek as a goodbye gesture and he chuckled softly as I did.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said dismissively, reaching around me to open the door for me. "I'll see you soon. Have a good class."

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I absolutely hate being late for class. I hate the feeling when you walk in and everyone turns to look at you as if they've never seen someone walk into a fucking room before. I always feel my face turn red when the teacher looks at me. It's even worse when the teacher stops talking, pausing in their lecture so that everyone can stare at you and make you feel like shit for not showing up on time. In this case, I was about twenty minutes late to my psychology class. There was only one seat left and thankfully it was towards the back of the room. The guy sat on my right had his laptop open and was surfing Facebook. The girl on my left was staring at the teacher intently.

I only caught the last few minutes of the lecture before a video was put on and we were instructed to take notes. I already had my pencil and notebook taken out before I realized that I'd already seen the film. Not to be conceited, but I had always excelled in school. I had a sort of photographic memory and I never forgot something once I had learned it. Therefore, I was disappointed to learn that I was going to have to sit through this video again.

"Hey, do you have a pencil that I can borrow?" The girl next to me asked.

I turned to look at her. She had wavy hair the color of honey and black rimmed glasses framing her bright blue eyes. She was tan and thin with big boobs and bright white teeth. Basically, she was one of those people that you look at and wonder what the fuck their parents must look like because they created a ridiculously good looking child. However, I did notice that she had on a _The Offspring_ band T shirt, inevitably winning her some respect points from me.

"Uh, yeah, here." I said, handing her the pencil that I was holding.

"You don't need it? To take your own notes?" She asked.

"Oh, no, I'm good. I've already seen this movie."

"You watch psych documentaries in your spare time?" She asked, smiling teasingly.

"No. I mean, not exactly. I did a paper on post traumatic stress syndrome in high school so I rented this movie from the community college library."

She raised her eyebrows at me, looking impressed.

"Wow. For someone who shows up halfway through class you sure do seem like an over achiever."

"I guess." I said, not sure if I was being insulted or not.

"I'm Holly." She said, extending her hand to me.

"Bella." I answered, taking her hand in mine and shaking it.

She glanced down at my hand and then her eyes widened. She pulled it towards her and examined it.

"Holy shit, your ring is _gorgeous_." She said, keeping up the whispers that we'd been speaking in.

"Oh, thanks." I answered, blushing for some reason.

"This is Tiffany's. Am I right?"

"Yeah." I said, pulling my hand back and toying with my ring absentmindedly.

"Wow. Your man must have saved up _forever_ for that."

The truth was that the ring probably wasn't even considered a big purchase for Edward, but that felt way too ostentatious to say to someone that I had only just met. However, it would have been worse to just ignore her altogether. So I decided to change the subject.

"You're a fan of _The Offspring_?" I asked, gesturing to her shirt.

"Fuck yeah I am. What about you?"

"Of course I am. Who isn't? They're like their very own genre of music. I've been a fan forever."

"Awesome." She said, smiling widely at me. "They're one of my favorite bands ever. They're totally classic."

"Definitely. _Smash _is probably my second favorite album ever."

"What's your first?"

"_Nevermind_ by _Nirvana._"

"Oh my God, I think I just formed a little bit of a lesbian crush on you. I have an obsession with Kurt Cobain. I'm not even kidding."

I laughed and turned more towards her.

"In high school my friends and I used to sit up in my best friend's tree house and get high listening to that album on repeat."

"You know, _The Offspring_ is coming here on tour in a few months. But I'm sure tickets are going to be ridicafuck expensive."

"Ridicafuck?" I asked, laughing.

"Yeah. I make up my own words all the time. Usually they're just shortened words or two words merged together. Like ridicafuck, for example. It means 'ridiculously fucking'. Like if I wanted to say that the concert tickets are ridiculously fucking expensive, I would just say they're ridicafuck expensive." She explained, smiling.

"Wow. That's…kind of fucking awesome." I said, laughing.

I'm not normally a very friendly person. I'm not generally outgoing and I don't normally like chit chat. But for some reason I really liked Holly. We seemed to literally have everything in common when it came to our personalities. She was quirky, funny, and easy for me to talk to. It was just one of those things where you meet someone and instantly know that you're going to be friends.

Neither of us paid any attention to anything that class period. We spent the whole time quietly talking and laughing, something that was kind of unusual for me.

At the end of the class, we were given a research assignment to do in pairs. Of course, Holly and I decided to work together. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses before leaving class. I actually would have liked to hang out with her some more, but she had mentioned in our conversation that she had another class after psychology.

I decided that after class I would go to the bank and deposit Edward's check. My account was pretty low and I needed to do some grocery shopping. After leaving the building where my psychology class was, I started to make my way down the stone steps that led down to the parking lot.

"Bella?"

I turned and looked behind me, in the direction that the voice had come from. There, standing at the top of the steps, was Alice.

"Alice! Hey!" I said, turning and going back up the stairs to her.

"Hey." She said, looking me up and down.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Uh, what the hell are you wearing?" She asked, looking confused.

"What? Oh, it's Ralph Lauren." I said, looking down at my outfit.

"I know where it's from. I mean, why the hell are you wearing it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't wear Ralph Lauren. You don't even _own_ Ralph Lauren. At least, you didn't. I've never seen you wear a label like that. Where did those clothes even come from?"

She was probably also thinking that I could never afford those clothes, but I knew Alice well enough to know that she would never say that.

"I, uh…went shopping. I went shopping with Edward." I told her.

"Oh."

"I tried to call you after I got your email but I couldn't get a hold of you. Did you still want to get together?"

"I guess so. I mean, yeah. I want to talk."

"Can we talk now?" I asked hopefully. "Do you have time to go get a cup of coffee?"

"Not really. I have class in a little while. Can we just talk here? I mean, we can go sit in the courtyard or something."

"Yeah, okay. Sure." I answered; satisfied that she was willing to talk to me at all.

I hated how awkward it was as we descended the stairs together. You could physically feel the tension between us, only made worse by the fact that neither of us said anything. I wanted to, but I didn't know what to say. In fact, we walked the entire way to the courtyard in silence. Even once we'd gotten there and settled on a bench it seemed like neither of us knew how to start. I stared down at the blades of grass in front of me, cursing the fact that things had ended up like this between us. When it started to get almost too uncomfortable to bear, Alice finally said something.

"Why didn't you just tell me you were seeing him? Why did you keep it a secret in the first place?" She said, surprising me by jumping right into it.

I swallowed and continued looking down. I hated the situation that this agreement with Edward was putting me in when it came to Alice. This was going to be one long, never ending web. One lie always led to another. And now that I'd started lying to Alice, I knew I wouldn't ever be able to stop. If I wanted to keep things up with Edward, I would always be lying to my best friend.

"I didn't want to put a strain on our friendship without knowing if things would go anywhere with him."

"You still should have told me. How could you keep a secret like that? When it involves my family?"

"I know. I realize now that I should have told you. I'm sorry. I wish I could do it over again."

"You two don't even go together, Bella. I mean, you're like polar opposites. How did this even happen?"

"We're more alike than you'd think."

I couldn't help but smile when I realized that I had just repeated the same words that Edward had said to me when we'd first really started talking.

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"A few months."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes." I answered, making sure that I didn't look up at her, fearing that she might see through me.

"Are you happy with him?"

I sighed and mentally told myself to put my game face on. This conversation was inevitable. And it was crucial that I be as convincing as possible.

"Alice, if I wasn't absolutely sure that I want to marry Edward then I would never risk our friendship by doing so. And I still struggle with the thought that maybe I'm doing the wrong thing. I hate feeling like in choosing to be with Edward that I'm letting you go. I don't want to lose you. I want both of you. And it's a hard pill to swallow to realize that that may not be possible. But I've chosen my path. And all that I can do now is hope that you can eventually find it in your heart to be supportive of that. I truly am sorry that I kept this all a secret from you. And I truly do understand why you would feel betrayed by me. But you are still my best friend. I still love you. And although I'm sorry for all of that, I can't apologize to you for falling in love with your brother. It's not something that was in my control. And it's not something that I can deny. I have to follow my heart. So the only thing that I can be sorry for is keeping my feelings for him from you. But know that I am sorry for hurting you."

I was pleased with my little speech. Edward would have been proud. I still felt a little guilty for lying to Alice once again, but I was driven to continue by the hope that if I was convincing enough this would all go away soon.

Alice was quiet for a long time. When I looked at her, she looked thoughtful. And that gave me hope. Maybe I was about to get my best friend back. I waited patiently for her to speak, wanting to give her as much time as she needed to think.

"I forgive you for keeping it a secret from me, Bella." She finally said softly.

I wave of relief washed over me.

"Thank you, Alice. I – "

"Wait." She said, cutting me off. "I forgive you for keeping it a secret from me. But I'm not sure if we're ever going to be the same. I honestly can forgive you, and I have, but I don't know where we can go from here."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well," She started, sounding contemplative but calm. "I'm sure you know by now that this marriage is going to change your life. And our relationship is part of that. You being married to my brother is going to inevitably change the dynamic of our friendship. How are things going to be the same between us when I don't even feel comfortable talking about your marriage with you?"

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know how to be your best friend anymore, Bella."

Her statement hurt worse than I would have imagined that it would. Was she really saying that she didn't want to be my friend anymore? Even though she'd forgiven me?"

"Okay." I said, hearing the sadness in my voice.

"But please don't misunderstand me, Bella. I still _want_ to be your best friend. I just don't know how it is going to work. I'm not sure if I can be supportive of your relationship with my brother. Not because you lied to me about it, but because I don't think that you're right for each other. But, with that being said, I do want to try to get passed it. I do want to try to salvage our friendship, but you should know that I'm wary about it."

"I understand." I said, feeling better knowing that she at least wanted to try. "But I confidently believe that our friendship can get through this. I'm hoping that once you get used to the idea of Edward and I being together that you can be more supportive. I'm not expecting anything from you. All I'm hoping for is your friendship, Alice. And if Edward is such a roadblock to us being okay, then we don't even have to talk about him. We don't even have to discuss our relationship."

"I think maybe that's a good idea." She answered. "I don't think we should talk about your relationship with him. At least, not until I get used to it."

"Okay. That's fine. I just want to go back to the things were. Can we do that?"

"I don't know. But I want to try."

"Me too. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I know that you don't feel like you can be supportive of me marrying him, but can you at least respect it?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, almost sounding offended. "Of course I'm respectful of it."

"Maybe I worded that poorly. I just mean that, well; you know I'm not good at girly stuff. And our engagement is going to be pretty short, so…I was hoping that you'd help me with the planning? I mean, we don't have to talk about Edward. We can keep it strictly business. Your mom said that she would help, but I'd really like your input too. And wedding planning is _so_ right up your ally."

She gave me a small smile, but stayed quiet for a while.

"I don't know." She finally answered. "I'll have to think about it."

"Okay." I said, disappointed but understanding.

"I have to get going. I need to stop by the library before my class." She said, standing up.

"Oh, okay." I said, standing with her.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay, sure."

I wanted to hug her, but she walked away before I got the chance. As I left campus for my car, I had mixed emotions about my conversation with Alice. Mostly, I was disappointed. I just wanted everything to be the way that it was before, but more and more I was losing faith that that was going to happen.

After a long line at the bank, and then getting a speeding ticket on the way home, my mood continued to deteriorate throughout the afternoon. It wasn't until I checked my phone later that evening that I started to feel better. In one single text from Alice, my hope that things might work out was rejuvenated.

_**I don't want to look back one day and regret not helping my best friend plan her wedding. Let me know what you need help with. -Alice**_

I smiled down at my phone. I was right. My best friend could never resist the opportunity to plan a party.

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**A/N:**

**I'm thinking there will probably be two more chapters before the wedding and then who knows how many after that. The next chapter will include Bella and Edward's dinner with Marcus and Heidi and also Bella telling her dad. **

**A big big thanks to my beta, **_**GinaJas**_**. Thanks for being so patient with me and always being ready to go when I need you :)**

**I'm going to try to be realistic and shoot for an update in ten days. So, I'm going to TRY to post next Monday. Let's keep our fingers crossed. **

**Thanks for reading! Your support is the reason I continue :)**

**Jenna**


	10. Cocktease

**A/N:**

**I don't own recognizable characters, but I do own the plot.**

**I probably sound like the little boy who cried wolf by now, but I **_**promise**_** this is the beginning of more frequent updates. I want to get this and LHOP finished in a somewhat timely manner so that I can start posting the story I've secretly been working on the past few months (gasp!)**

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I stood naked, preparing to get in the shower, in the middle of my room and staring at my bed. In the middle of it innocently resided Alejandro, my trusty vibrating friend. Well, maybe not so innocently. I think he may have been trying to seduce me. I hadn't been treating him to any dips in my honey pot lately. To be honest, I think the longer that my dry spell lasted the more I craved something more than Alejandro. His jelly pink rubbery self was becoming less of an ideal substitute for the real deal.

But, I'm still a woman. And I still love orgasms. And I _did_ appreciate the fact that Alejandro could give me one. So, on this particular afternoon, I had brought out the toy and was now contemplating getting in bed with him to see if we could rekindle some of the magic that we once shared. I really wanted to, because I really wanted the release, but for some reason my heart just wasn't in it. Good old Al just didn't pull me in the way he used to.

It wasn't him, it was me.

I missed real cock.

I sighed and was just about to go put him away again when my phone started ringing. I picked it up from its own spot on the bed and glanced at the screen. It was Edward.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Suddenly I was full of irrational anxiety. I felt weird about being on the phone with him while I was naked and staring at my big pink vibrator. I don't know why I freaked out. But I suddenly developed an illogical fear that Edward could see me or something or would miraculously know what I was doing.

"Sewing." I said casually off of the top of my head, feeling the need to give him an immediate answer for some reason.

Why sewing, you ask? I have no fucking clue. I panicked. Give me a break.

"Sewing?"

"Uh, yeah. Sewing."

"I didn't know that you sew."

"Yep." I lied. "I'm full of surprises. Anyway, what's up?"

"I'm calling to ask if you'd like to come over a little earlier this evening. Marcus and Heidi should be there around seven, but I want to discuss some things with you concerning the wedding."

"Okay, sure. I can come early. What time?"

"Will six work for you?"

"Sure. Six is fine."

"Okay, great. See you then."

"Wait, I have a question." I said quickly before he could hang up.

"Okay."

"What should I wear? I mean, I don't know what normal attire is for a dinner party."

"Oh, um, I don't know. Something nice."

"Well, yeah, I gathered that much. I wasn't going to show up in sweatpants. My question is _how nice_? Should I wear a dress?"

"I guess so, yeah. I could see Heidi showing up in a dress. You know, like a semi-nice dress. Not _too_ fancy."

"But what if I wear a dress and she doesn't. Then I'll feel overdressed."

"I don't know, Bella. I'm not a fashion consultant."

Normally I would call Alice for this kind of thing, but we'd agreed to not talk about Edward when we could avoid it. So that didn't really seem appropriate.

"Well what if I just wear a skirt? Would that be okay?"

"Sure. I think that would be fine. Why don't you wear that little black skirt that we bought at Saks?"

I knew without much explanation the skirt that Edward was talking about. After he'd seen me try it on he'd insisted that we buy it. It had a high waistline, was tight as hell, and was barely long enough to acceptably wear in public.

"You don't think it's too skanky looking? I mean, it's _really_ short."

"No, it will be fine. It looks fine with that top the sales lady said was supposed to go with it."

I also knew what top he was talking about. It was a royal blue blouse that the sales consultant said we just _had_ to buy with the skirt. To be honest, I did see why they made a good pair. The skirt was short, but the blouse had a relatively high neckline so its modesty kind of balanced out the lack there of in the skirt.

"Okay, I guess I'll wear that then."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Um, no, I think I've got everything else covered. I'll see you at six."

"Okay. Bye."

After hanging up with Edward, I was suddenly very aware once again of the fact that I was still naked. I put Alejandro back in the drawer that I kept him in and then went to go take my shower. After that I went ahead and started to get ready since I was now going to be going to Edward's a little earlier.

As I attempted to do my hair and makeup, I thought of Alice again and how she always used to do those things for me. I was thankful that she'd at least once shown me the best way to curl my hair. At least I had once relatively nice looking style that I could do myself.

I found it kind of ironic that despite the distance that had formed between Alice and I, I had actually become much more like her recently. With my new clothes and all of the dressing up I'd been doing lately, I was feeling much more feminine. Although I hadn't been looking forward to having to always look my best for the sake of being Edward's trophy wife, I was actually kind of starting to enjoy the way it made me feel. For example, once I was finished getting dressed and doing my hair and makeup, I was really happy with my reflection in the mirror. I looked pretty. The short skirt I was wearing paired with my coordinating black heels made my legs look miles long. And for once, I felt sexy.

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A while later, as I made my way up the sidewalk to Edward's front door, I almost felt as though my walk had turned into a bit of a strut. I felt sexy and confident, and I was working it. It felt good to finally, well…feel good about something.

After I rang the doorbell I fluffed my hair up a little, wanting to look as good as I felt when Edward saw me. However, it wasn't him that answered the door. It was Cecilia.

"Ah, miss Bella!" She said, smiling widely and opening the door up further for me. "Come in, come in."

"Thank you." I said, smiling at her as I walked over the threshold.

She closed the door behind me and then turned to point down the hallway.

"Edward is down in his office." She told me. "Always working, that man."

"Oh, okay. Should I just go in there?" I asked, unsure.

"Yes, yes. Go on." She said, nodding.

"Okay, thanks."

She took off one way, I think towards the kitchen, while I turned to head down the hallway that led to Edward's office. I wasn't sure if I should just walk right in, and I didn't want to disturb him while he was working, so I knocked.

"Come in." He called from behind the door.

"Hey, it's me." I said as I opened the door and slowly walked in.

He glanced up at me and then looked back down at his computer. But then his head snapped up again and this time his eyes remained locked on me, or more specifically…my body. I smiled and bit my lip. That was the first time a man had ever done the whole double take thing when he looked at me.

"Wow." He said quietly, his eyes shifting up to meet mine.

"What?" I asked innocently, reaching behind me to shut the door.

"You look…amazing. That skirt looks ten times better on you then I remembered."

"Thanks." I said, smiling as I walked into the room and towards his desk.

"Come here." He said, scooting back from his desk in his leather rolling chair and opening his arms to me.

I walked around the desk and over to him, squealing in surprise when he wrapped his outstretched arms around my waist and pulled me down onto his lap. I was positioned sideways with my legs flung over the side of the chair. He placed his hand on my thigh and rubbed it gently, making my skin heat up.

"Well, hello to you too." I said, laughing a little as I looked down at him.

"You're legs look so fucking good in that skirt." He said, continuing to rub my thigh.

"Thanks. I wasn't so sure about this skirt in the store, but I really like it now. And it's actually really comfo – "

I never got to finish my sentence because I was cut off by Edward's lips attacking my own. His kiss was hungry. His tongue pushed insistently into my mouth and passionately moved against mine. In an instant, both of his hands were raised to cradle my face between them. He held them there, resting on each side of my head, as he continued kissing me deeply. It seemed like a rather controlling gesture, but I kind of liked it. I liked the domineering style of Edward's kisses. I moaned into his mouth to tell him so and he moaned back into mine in response.

I loved the way Edward tasted, like red wine and cigarettes. But the way he felt was even better. As we continued with our little make out session, I let my hands explore Edward's amazing upper body. They moved eagerly over his strong arms and muscular chest. He was big and toned and _all_ man. Being there, perched on his lap and his arms, I'd never felt more small and feminine. Not only did my outfit make me feel sexy. Edward made me feel sexy.

"Mmm…" He hummed as he pulled back, although still close enough that our foreheads were touching. "You're a very good kisser, Isabella."

"Thanks." I said, smiling. "So are you. We make a pretty good team in the kissing department." I added, laughing a little.

"You seem to be in an unusually good mood this evening." He murmured.

"Do I? Hmm. I guess I'm just excited."

"What are you excited about?"

"I don't know. Everything. Things being better with Alice…the wedding…my outfit…"

"Mhm…I'm pretty excited about your outfit, too." He said, reaching down to playfully squeeze my thigh.

"Stop!" I said, laughing and swatting his hand away.

"So, you're excited about the wedding now? When did that happen?" He asked.

"Well, not really the wedding itself, just everything that goes along with it. I'm excited about not having to worry about money anymore. I'm excited about living in a gorgeous house versus my shitty apartment. I'm excited about a new car. I'm excited to not have to worry about how I'm going to pay for school anymore. And I'm even getting excited about all of my new clothes."

"Oh, I see. Well, good. I'm glad you're getting excited. That was the idea behind all of this, after all."

"I'm sorry. Is it rude of me to be talking about how excited I am for you to buy me a bunch of nice stuff?"

"No, that's not rude. We both know what the other is getting into this agreement for. You're just being honest."

"Okay, good. I don't want to sound like a total money hungry bitch. I mean, it's not like I'm going to go crazy with your money. I just don't want to have to _worry_ about money anymore."

"I know that. So, on a lighter note, things with Alice. You said they're getting better?"

"Yeah." I said, nodding and carefully removing myself from his lap. "We talked the other day at school. I'm not entirely sure if we're on solid ground with each other yet, but we at least established that we both want to work on our friendship. She even said that she wants to help plan the wedding."

I moved over to the other side of the desk and took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

"Good, that's great. I'm glad."

"Yeah, me too. So, speaking of the wedding; you said you had some stuff that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yeah, I do. I have a date in mind, actually."

"Oh, really? When?"

"June twentieth. Our initial thought was a three month engagement. June twentieth is just a little less than three months from now."

"Okay. That should work fine for me."

"It actually works out quiet well, I think. You'll be out of school by then and you won't go back until august so that leaves you enough time for a honeymoon and to get settled into the house and all of that."

"Wait, we're actually going to go on a real honeymoon?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't we?"

"Because this isn't a real marriage."

"No, but don't you think it would raise a lot of questions if we didn't go on a honeymoon? I know that my family would definitely find that strange, not to mention everyone else."

"I guess so."

What he was saying really did make sense; I'd just never considered the thought that we would take a honeymoon.

"Besides, I could use a vacation. That's all it has to be to us. It's just a vacation."

"So, where will we go?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know. What do you think? Is there anywhere in the world you've wanted to see and haven't had the chance?"

"Um, are you kidding? Try…_everywhere_. There are _tons_ of places I'd _love_ to see. Australia…India…the Bahamas…Europe…"

"You've never been to Europe?"

"No, never."

"How about Italy? Italy is one of my favorite places in the world."

"Are you serious? We can really go to Italy?"

"Of course we can. We can go anywhere you want."

I wanted to lunge across the desk and attack him in one huge thank you hug. Fortunately, I managed to muster up a little more class than that.

"Hold shit, Edward! Thank you!"

See? Pure class.

"You're welcome." He said as he chuckled, seemingly amused by my enthusiasm.

"Okay, now I'm _really_ excited for this wedding to be over with."

A trip to Italy sounded like the perfect way to kick off, well… my new life I guess. I knew that once I returned from that trip, as Mrs. Cullen, everything would be different for me. Everything would be so much _easier_ for me. I would pretty much have no worries anymore.

"So we have a date and a honeymoon location. Now all we have to do is make plans for the actual event itself."

"Yeah, well, I'm counting on getting all the help I can from your mom and your sister."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. I know that my mother will at least want to be as involved as you'll let her be."

"Good. Because I don't want to have to plan this thing myself."

"Regardless, I think most of the hard part is behind us. Well, almost. You still have to tell your parents. What plans did you make with your father for tomorrow night?"

"I'm gonna talk to him and tell him I'm engaged just the two of us. And I know he's going to insist on meeting you right away, so I thought we would all do dinner around seven. Is that okay?"

"Sure, that's fine. I left my night open."

"Okay, thanks."

"Are you nervous about telling him?"

I shifted in my chair and shrugged.

"I guess a little. But my Dad is a very simple man. He'll ask me if I'm sure that this is what I want and if I'm happy, but he won't push. He's pretty good about letting me do my own thing without too many questions. I mean, I don't think it's very out of character for me to keep a relationship on the down low from him. So it's not like I'm blindsiding him with a shocking blow or anything."

"Well, good. I'm sure everything will be fine. I have a knack for first impressions." He said, smirking at me cockily.

I shrugged and looked down to examine my fingernail, annoyed with his pompousness and unwilling to feed into his ego.

"You didn't exactly particularly impress _me_ when _we_ first met, but okay." I said with a slight eye roll.

He laughed softly and got up, casually walking around the desk and then pausing right in front of where I sat, leaning back onto it.

"Oh, come on…" He said, bumping his leg against my knee playfully."I know you think I'm sexy."

I smiled and looked up at him.

"I didn't say I don't. All I said was that you didn't particular impress me upon first meeting you."

He licked his lower lip and then drug his teeth across it, all the while still wearing that cocky smirk of his, giving me a sudden craving to have his tongue in my mouth.

_Or my…_

"So," He said, leaning over and bearing his weight with his hands placed on the armrests at my sides. "You _do_ think I'm sexy then?"

It irritated me that one second I could be annoyed with Edward's conceitedness and then the next it would be turning me on. And it irritated me more that I couldn't _really_ be irritated with him. I wanted to be, but suddenly all I could think about was Edward's tongue exploring my hoo-ha.

All thoughts of even _wanting_ to be irritated disappeared when he leaned in further to gently and playfully nibble on my earlobe.

"You have to ask?" I asked quietly, squirming a little in my seat. "You were so sure just a moment ago…" I teased.

"Well maybe I just want to hear you say it." He whispered before flipping my hair over my opposite shoulder so he could start kissing the exposed skin behind my ear.

"Mm, that must be it…" I said, smiling as I lifted my hand to feel his chiseled and so easily available bicep.

"That's okay. You don't have to say it." He said teasingly, kissing right underneath my ear. "You'll be saying much more scandalous things soon enough, anyway."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" I asked, tilting my head to the side a little to give him better access.

"Mm, things like…harder…faster…deeper…" He paused and lowered one of his hands to gently squeeze my thigh. When he spoke again his voice was slightly lower and slightly huskier. "I'm coming…"

I closed my eyes and swallowed. I was getting wet. I could feel it. Suddenly I wished that I had taken advantage of my vibrator earlier. Maybe then I would feel more satisfied and then I, and my cooch, could have a little fucking self control around Edward and his teasing.

I was half annoyed and half relieved when the doorbell suddenly rang. I was annoyed because I was enjoying our sexual banter and now we were interrupted. And yet I was relieved because I felt like maybe I was enjoying it a little _too much_ and I wasn't sure that I was equipped to handle getting any more turned on than I already was.

Edward kissed my neck once more and then stood up, smiling down at me.

"Come on." He said, extending his hand to me. "Let's go greet our guests. I'm excited for you to meet Heidi.

I stood up, straightened out my clothes, and then slipped my hand into Edward's.

"I hope they like me." I said as he led me out of the office and down the hallway. "And I hope they're cool. I mean, I know that I already met Marcus, but I didn't get to talk to him much. I hope he's as cool as he seemed. And I hope Heidi isn't like all of the other women that I met at that party we went to. Especially not like that Roseanne chick…she weirded me out."

"You mean Rosalie?" Edward asked as we entered the foyer.

"Yeah, her. She was kind of a bitch. I mean, really. What's up her ass that has her so damn uptight?"

He chuckled lightly to himself as if I'd just told a good joke, but opened the front door before I got the chance to ask why.

What happened next happened so quickly that I was a little caught off guard.

"Ah! Edward! Che piacere vederti!" A tall and gorgeous woman said loudly, grabbing Edward by the shoulders and leaning in to kiss each of his cheeks.

"Well hello, gorgeous." Edward said, smiling as he kissed each of her cheeks in return.

Heidi was unbelievably gorgeous. She sort of looked like Miranda Kerr, but even prettier. She also had a _very_ thick accent.

"And this is your lady?" She asked, gesturing to me. When Edward smiled and nodded, she immediately enveloped me in a huge hug. "You're so beautiful, my dear!" She said, squeezing me.

I hugged her back, not wanting to be rude, but felt a little awkward.

"Yes, this is my Bella." Edward said, smiling at us as Heidi released me.

"Bella!" She said so loudly it made me jump. "Your name is Bella! That means beautiful! It's so perfect! Beautiful Bella!"

I laughed and shifted my weight awkwardly. I knew that my name meant beautiful in Italian and then I remembered Edward telling me previously that Heidi and her husband had just returned from Italy, where Heidi was from. So I was then able to place her accent.

"Thanks." I answered.

"Bella, it's so nice to see you again." Marcus said, stepping forward to air kiss my cheek. "And thank you for having us over." He added, going to shake Edward's hand.

"It's our pleasure." Edward answered. "I've been looking forward to Bella finally being able to spend time with you both."

"I'm so glad you're finally getting married!" Heidi squealed. "I was starting to think that you would never settle down!"

"I was starting to think the same thing myself." Edward said, laughing. "But when a woman like Isabella comes along, well, you don't pass that up."

I looked over at Edward and smiled genuinely because, in a way, Edward wasn't even lying. When an offer comes along like what we could both offer one another, you don't pass that up. At least, that's how I felt about him. I couldn't pass up everything that he could offer me.

"Awe, they are so precious!" Heidi gushed to her husband.

"Our dinner should be just about ready. I hope you're both hungry?" Edward asked.

"Absolutely, I'm starved." Marcus answered.

"Excellent. Shall we make our way to the dining room then?" Edward responded.

I was expecting that we would have a borderline boring dinner, eat some fancy food, and that I would have to listen to Edward and Marcus talk about business. What I was not expecting, was to have a good time…a _really_ good time. We drank so much champagne and wine that we were all a little tipsy. And Instead of having a stuffy conversation about work like I thought we would, we all laughed with each other and enjoyed easy conversation. Even Edward didn't seem as uptight as usual. Once we were all done eating, we remained lingering at the dinner table, enjoying each other's company.

"You know," Marcus started, slurring his speech a little. "People are going to give you all kinds of advice about marriage, but you wanna know the _real_ secret to making things work?" He asked, leaning towards us.

"What?" I asked through a giggle.

He smiled at us and dropped his voice down to barely above a whisper, as if he were telling a real secret.

"Sex." He told us simply.

Heidi and I both giggled while Edward chuckled heartily, taking another generous sip of his wine.

"You know, my mother always says," Heidi started, still giggling. "Your marriage is only as good as the sex is!"

"Have you seen my fiancé?" Edward asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I don't think we'll have any problems in that department."

"Someone is going to have a good honeymoon!" Marcus said suggestively, raising his glass in Edward's direction. Edward laughed and raised his glass as well so that they could clink them together.

"Speaking of which, I meant to mention our honeymoon earlier." Edward said, turning towards Heidi. "I think we've decided on Italy as our destination."

"Oh, how exciting!" She answered. "You've been before, yes?"

"I have, but Isabella has not. She's very excited."

"I've never even been out of the country!" I told her. "Can you believe that?" I added, probably being obnoxiously loud like I always was when I drank too much.

"Oh, how sad! There are so many wonderful places out there to see! You'll just have to make Edward take you on many vacations." She said with a big smile.

"Italy will be enough for now." I answered with a giggle. "I'm so excited."

"You should be. It really is beautiful. You'll have a great time."

"Yes, we will. I'm already mentally planning things that I want to do while we're there." Edward said, giving me a look as if he was trying to insinuate something that I wasn't catching on to.

We sat around the table, continuing to throw back the wine, for about another hour. By the time Marcus and Heidi announced that they should be heading home, I was genuinely sad to see them go. I'd had a much better time than I'd expected I would. I would definitely be willing to hang out with them again, and I hoped that they had liked me as much as I had them.

Then again, I loved everyone when I was drunk.

"Well they were pretty fucking cool." I said once Edward had closed the door behind them. "Soooooo much cooler than all those douches at that boring ass party we went to."

He turned around to face me and flashed me an amused smirk.

"You're drunk." He said, chuckling.

"No, I'm not." I insisted.

"Yes you are."

"Okay, maybe I am. But so are you."

"I may be a little tipsy." He said with a shrug.

"I need a cigarette." I announced, kicking off my heels now that I was no longer around Edward's friends and didn't care how classy I looked.

"A cigarette sounds wonderful right now. You want to join me for one out on the back patio?"'

"Abso-fucking-lutely." I answered.

As we made our way through the house to head outside, we passed by the dining room where our dishes still covered the table. Cecilia had gone home about half way through our meal, so she wouldn't be doing the dishes. I wondered if Edward would do them himself. He didn't really seem like the dish-doing type.

The backyard was just as gorgeous as I remembered. The pool and patio lights were both turned on, illuminating the beautiful atmosphere around me.

"Your backyard is so badass." I said as I plopped down in one of the lawn chairs.

He took a seat in the chair next to me and brought out a pack of cigarettes, handing me one.

"Well soon it will be _your_ backyard is well."

"Right you are, my strapping fiancé." I said, drunk-giggling.

After he lit his cigarette, he passed me his lighter. I flicked the side with my thumb to ignite the flame, but it seemed like every time I went to light my cigarette, it went out.

"Are you always this uncoordinated when your drunk?" Edward asked, laughing.

"I'm not drunk. It's the wind." I snapped.

Edward laughed louder, irritating me.

"The wind? There's no wind at all out here."

"Shut up…" I mumbled, throwing the lighter at him.

He laughed again, grabbing the lighter, and slipped it into his pocket.

"Here," He said, handing me his lit cigarette. "Use this."

I took his cigarette and then held the lit end up to my own until mine lit. Then I gave Edward back his and took a long drag off of mine, glad to finally get it lit.

We sat there silently, smoking and enjoying the ambiance of our beautiful surroundings. As I sat there, looking out over the backyard, I tried to envision myself living there. I could use this gorgeous area any time I wanted. I could study out there. I could have morning coffee out there. And that pool…

"Let's go swimming." I blurted out suddenly.

"What?" Edward asked, sounding amused. "You don't have a swimsuit."

"That's okay." I said, standing up but stumbling a little.

"Are you going to go naked?"

"Maybe." I said, wiggling my eyebrows at him suggestively.

"Wait, are you serious?" He asked as he watched me pull my blouse out from where it was tucked in to my skirt, holding my cigarette between my lips.

"If I do it then you have to do it to." I giggled.

"You seriously want to go skinny dipping?" he asked, chuckling.

"What's wrong? Too chicken?" I teased.

"No. I'm just…surprised."

"Come on." I said, taking his hand and pulling on his arm insistently. "Let's do it."

"You're a horse of a different color…" He said, laughing and shaking his head, but getting up nonetheless.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I laughed.

"You know the only reason that I'm doing this is because I'm drunk, right?" He asked, leaning over to put his cigarette out in the nearby ashtray.

"Oh, is that so?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "And here I thought it was just because you want to see me naked."

"Oh, I'll be having plenty of opportunities to see you naked. Don't you worry." He answered, kicking his shoes off.

I took a drag from my cigarette as I watched him peel his socks off, smirking at me as he did. When he stood up straight and went to start unbuttoning his dress shirt, I smiled and watched eagerly. He took it off quickly, but unfortunately had an undershirt on underneath.

"Your turn." He said, nodding towards me.

I leaned over the chair I'd been sitting in to put my cigarette out in the ashtray. Once my hands were free, I put them to use pulling my blouse up and off over my head, tossing it onto the chair. I smiled smugly when I saw the look on Edward's face. I guess he wasn't expecting the low cut lace push up bra that I was wearing because I could see the usual collectiveness in his demeanor falter a little as his eyes darted to my breasts.

"Let's see that shirt come off, Mr. Cullen." I retorted.

He made quick work of lifting his undershirt off and then tossing it over next to my top. Meanwhile, I tried not to be _too _obvious about ogling his perfectly sculpted chest and abs. His upper body was even sexier than I'd imagined.

"As wonderful as that skirt looks on you…" He started, shifting his gaze down from my chest to my waist. "Lose it."

I smiled and reached behind myself to slide down the zipper of my skirt, excited to see his reaction to the skimpy black panties that matched my bra. I started to shimmy out of my skirt, slowly sliding it down my thighs. All the while I kept my eyes fixated on Edward's face, watching him stare at me shamelessly as I continued to strip down. I was surprised when he literally, although quietly, groaned as I revealed my panties. That boosted my confidence even more and made me smile.

"Like what you see?" I asked as I let my skirt fall down around my ankles.

"Let's just say I hope you have more lingerie sets like that." He answered, eyes raking up and down my legs.

"I do." I said, kicking my skirt towards him playfully. "Your turn."

His hands flew up to his belt buckle, which he quickly undid. He slid his belt off through the loops and tossed it aside, eyes still roaming over my body as he did. He carefully stepped out of his black dress pants and then folded them and set them down on the chair.

Apparently Edward was a boxer briefs guy…and he looked damn good in them. The ones that he was wearing at that particular moment were black and _just_ tight enough.

"Ball is in your court, Isabella." He said softly, eyes fixated on my breasts once again.

Silly Edward. Did he really think that I was about to just strip down naked in front of him? I didn't give a shit about my bra and panties, it covered more than my bikinis for fucks sake, but naked? Really? I mean, come on. We weren't married yet and therefore I was pretty sure that I didn't have to obey his pervy 'we have sex whenever I want' rules yet. So I wasn't just going to let him see my goodies for free. No way. My cookies were staying _in_ the cookie jar for now.

_Amateur._

"Hmm…" I said, biting my lip thoughtfully and playing with the waistband of my panties. "What to take off first…" I mused, raising one hand to tap my chin. I was pretty drunk, and the liquid courage had motivated me to fuck with Edward.

Figuratively, of course.

We all know I'm a lady.

"The bra." Edward interjected quickly. "You should definitely take off the bra."

"Oh, I should?" I asked, thoroughly amused.

"Yes." He answered before licking his lips sensually.

I slowly walked over to him and stopped right in front of him so we were standing mere inches apart. I looked up at him through my eyelashes and smiled at him sweetly, but he just looked down at me expectantly.

"Close your eyes." I said softly.

He swallowed and then surprisingly, he obeyed me. His eyes fluttered closed and I smiled contently.

"Keep them closed." I instructed.

I lifted both of my hands, my left going to rest on his shoulder and my right moving higher to trace his bottom lip with my finger. Then I slid that finger down, tracing across his prominent jaw line and down to his collar bone. I continued tracing a path down his chest and then right down the defined line that ran down his abs. When my finger reached the waistband of his boxer briefs I paused and let my hand linger there, toying gently with the elastic.

And then I turned and ran to the pool and did a cannonball into the water, leaving Edward standing there with his eyes closed like a fool.

By the time I had swam back up to break the surface, Edward was already standing at the side of the pool, glaring at me.

"I never took you for a cocktease, Isabella. I guess I was wrong."

"Oh, come on. Don't get your panties in a bunch." I answered, rolling my eyes.

"That was cruel." He answered, although he seemed to be suppressing a laugh.

"Get in!" I yelled, splashing some water up at him.

"Oh, you're gonna get it." He growled before lithely diving into the water.

I squealed when he swam right over to me, gripping my thighs and pulling me over to him. As he broke the surface of the water he pulled me, still by my thighs, over to him more until my legs were wrapped around his waist.

"I guess I should say sorry." I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "But you should have seen your fa –"

I didn't get to finish my sentence because his lips cut me off, kissing me forcefully.

Edward was starting to make a habit of that.

Pushy bitch.

Curiously, even though it had only been a few times, kissing Edward was already starting to feel natural. Maybe it was because the few times had all resulted in long and lengthy make out sessions, or maybe it was because we just had amazing chemistry when it came to kissing. Whatever it was, the more I kissed him, the more enjoyable it became. As uncharacteristic as it may seem for my personality, my tongue submitted perfectly to his.

My hands automatically moved to his hair as I surrendered to him. I allowed myself to get lost in his kiss, reveling in the velvety heat of his mouth. He kept his hands placed firmly on my thighs, holding me. Anything could have been going on around us, world war fucking three, and I wouldn't have noticed. I was too focused on his tongue and the electricity sizzling between us.

When he moaned into my mouth, my reaction was instinctual. I used my legs, which were wrapped around his hips, as leverage to pull myself forward and grind against him. I paused and pulled back from our kiss to look at his face when I felt something very large and very hard nestled between my legs, pressing up against my center.

"Is that a torpedo in your boxers, or are you just happy to see me?"

"You think my hard on is comparable to the size of a torpedo? I'm flattered, Isabella."

"I meant one of those pool toys that little kids play with." I clarified, experimentally grinding against his torpedo again.

He closed his eyes and swallowed.

Despite my sarcasm, it was clear that what I was going to be working with down there was big. Maybe even monstrous. It was hard to tell based strictly off of dry humping in the water.

That's kind of an oxymoron.

I guess it's not _dry_ humping if you're in a pool of water.

"Do you have a snarky comeback for _everything_?" He asked, eyes still closed.

"What? Did I hit a soft spot making fun of your little peen?"

"Use all the sarcasm you want. You and I both know that what you're feeling is far from little."

"Sure, sure."

"In fact, this is probably just a defense mechanism."

"In defense of what?"

"The intimidation at the fear that you're experiencing at the feel of my humongous cock."

The more times I rolled my hips against him and his 'humongous cock' the more physical discomfort he seemed to be in.

So of course I continued to do it.

"No, it's cool. I have a really loose vagina. We'll be fine."

He laughed and opened his eyes to look at me.

"What a relief." He deadpanned.

I'm not going to lie. I was thankful he caught on to my sarcasm.

"I feel like I'm high. I totally have the munchies right now." I said, absentmindedly continuing to grind against him.

"What? Where did that come from?"

"Um, maybe the aching emptiness in my stomach?"

"We just ate."

"Yeah, well, I'm fucking starving."

I released my arms from around his neck and then unwrapped my legs from his waist and swam away towards the ladder.

"Where the fuck are you going?" He asked, sounding floored.

"I'm going to get out so I can go home and make some tacos."

"But…on my dick…you were just…talking about vaginas…and grinding…and…"

The look on his face, you'd think I'd just killed a puppy in front of a nine year old.

"What? Me talking about my loose vagina was getting you all worked up?" I asked, climbing up the ladder and out of the pool.

"You're such a fucking cocktease. Do you realize I have a raging erection right now?"

"I don't give a fuck. I'm not married to you and your rules yet. I can be a cocktease if I want. Now chill the hell out. You can rub one out for yourself after I leave."

"Bitch…" He mumbled, probably thinking I couldn't hear him.

It's okay, though. I really am a bitch. He's entitled to speak the truth.

"Why do men always refer to their erections as 'raging' anyway?" I asked, starting to towel myself off. "Is that just a vocabulary strategy to make it sound bigger?"

"No, it's because my penis is ragingly upset that you just cockblocked him." He answered, starting to swim towards the ladder now.

"How can I cockblock your penis?"

"You blocked the cock from getting action."

"I cockblocked _you,_ not your penis. You can't cockblock a cock. That doesn't make any sense. That's like a double negative or something."

"You are so infuriating." He answered, climbing out of the pool.

"Yeah, too bad you signed a contract to marry me."

"Why are you so irreverent?"

"Big words can only fool people into thinking you're smart for so long, Edward."

"You are downright maddening." He groaned, picking up his own towel and starting to dry off.

"Yeah well you're arrogant."

"God, I want to fuck you so bad."

"In my loose, wide set vagina?"

"Sure you don't want to stay and fuck in my hot tub?"

"No, thanks. I'm going home to make tacos. But when you jack off after I leave you should totally do it in the hot tub. That sounds nice. It's a pretty night out."

Truth be told, I kind of did want to fuck Edward in his hot tub.

But I wanted tacos way more.

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**A/N:**

**This chapter was originally supposed to include Bella's dad, but I decided to push that over into next chapter. I THINK that the next chapter is going to be the last one before the wedding. And then things will really start to get interesting ;)**

**What do you think? Loved it? Hated it? Worth the wait or should I just give up haha?**

**Oh, I also wanted to mention something about the end of the chapter. I know that the end (after dinner) may have seemed a tad out of character when it comes to how these two characters normally are with each other, but then can be explained by two things. One, they are starting to get more comfortable with each other. Two, they were tipsy.**

**Things to look forward to in the upcoming chapters: What's Holly's story, what the hell is up with Edward and Rosalie, Bella moving in, oh and sex. Lots and lots of delicious assward sex :)**

**Jenn **


	11. Pussytease

**A/N:**

**Surprise! I told you guys that I was going to prove myself **_**not**_** to be the little boy who cried wolf. I promised more frequent updates, so this is me delivering!**

**As usual, I own no recognizable characters.**

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I woke up on Sunday to the annoying ringing of my cell phone. I ignored it twice and even tried muffling it under my pillow before I gave up and decided to just take care of the situation. Keeping my eyes closed, I flipped open my phone and stuck it up to my face.

"Fuck off." I mumbled into it.

Of course, it just had to be Edward.

"Well that's no way to speak to your fiancé."

"What do you want?"

"I'm outside your apartment."

What the fuck?

"What the fuck?" I asked, opening my eyes now. "You're at my apartment? How do you even know where I live? I've never told you where I live…"

"You think I don't know where my own fiancé lives?" He asked in an amused tone.

"Are you stalking me?"

"No, I'm marrying you."

"What do you want? Why are you here? I thought we weren't meeting up until later, with my dad."

"Well, my plans for today were cancelled and I figured we might as well be productive."

"What is that supposed to mean? I'm too hung over to be productive."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, sounding amused again.

"Yes. I feel like shit." I answered, irritated.

"Oh, okay. I thought we could get in some car shopping before your plans with your father this evening, but if you're too hung over then I'll ju –"

"Wait, what?" I asked, cutting him off as I sat up in bed. "You want to go car shopping? Like, for my new car?"

"Well, I did. But no-"

"Give me two minutes. I just have to brush my teeth and put some clothes on."

"You're naked?"

"Two minutes!" I yelled into the phone before closing it and tossing it down onto the bed.

I shot out of that bed so fast I'm surprised I didn't strain a muscle. If Edward wanted to buy my new car today, I was going. Hangover be damned.

In record timing I had my teeth brushed, clothes on, and even had time to throw on my sunglasses before grabbing my keys and storming out the front door.

I raced down the stairs and literally ran over to where Edward was standing beside his car, smoking a cigarette. I flung myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck as I squealed happily. He was buying me a new car today. That deserved a hug in my book.

"Have you even showered today? You smell like taco seasoning." He said, his eyebrows furrowing together.

Good mood gone.

I let go of him and put my hands up against his chest to push him away from me a bit.

"Yeah well you smell like sperm. I guess beating the meat went well last night? Did you and your hand have a good time in the hot tub?"

He didn't really smell like sperm, he smelled like he always did; cigarettes and cologne and spearmint. But he insulted my scent, so of course I had to insult his.

"No. We had a good time in the shower, thank you very much." He said, smirking at me. "Some of us actually take those. Showers, I mean."

"You're a dick." I said, snatching his cigarette out of his hand and taking a drag from it.

"Stop undressing me with your eyes." He countered, grabbing the cigarette from between my lips and shoving it between his own.

"I am _not_ undressing you with my eyes."

I was.

"Sure."

"I wasn't. I was just thinking about how ugly those pants are."

"They're jeans. How can they be ugly?"

"Maybe it's not the jeans, maybe it's you. But I think the jeans are giving you moose knuckles."

They weren't really.

"Moose knuckles?"

"Yeah."

"What the fuck is that?"

"It's like the male version of a camel toe. And I think you have it. Gross."

"I do not!" He said defensively, reaching down to adjust his package.

"Shit, you just made it worse. How embarrassing." I said, grimacing.

"I do not have 'moose knuckles', Isabella." He growled, flicking his cigarette on the ground and putting it out with his shoe.

I looked down at it longingly. I'd wanted another drag off of it before he put it out.

Dick.

"Yeah, you totally do. Are you wearing women's jeans?"

"No, they are not women's jeans." He spat as if he were floored by the thought.

"Well then what's the deal with the moose knuckles?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked, getting really agitated.

"Yeah, I am." I said, laughing. "I'm joking. You don't really have moose knuckles. Now, come on!" I said, pushing him towards the driver's side of his Aston Martin. "Let's go get my car!" I squealed excitedly.

He got into the car, shaking his head as he did, and I scurried around over to the passenger side.

We made out for twenty five minutes in the parking lot.

.

.

.

.

We hit up the Lexus dealership first and then BMW. Of course the cars there were gorgeous, but I didn't feel like we'd found the one. Edward kept pushing for me to get the BMW Z4 Roadster. I told him that it looked like a car a man in a mid life crisis would drive, but he wouldn't let it go.

I told him to suck it.

He told me to watch my attitude.

I threw my water bottle at him, missed, and hit a car.

We were asked to leave.

Thankfully I'm such a forgiving and tolerable person that I was able to look at the next stop as a fresh start. _Audi_. Mm, just the name sounded fierce. I'd never considered myself to be one of those girls who got turned on by fast cars, but the Audis did things to me. The salesman that snatched us up first was a pushy pain in the ass, but I ignored him and just stuck to ogling the cars while Edward dealt with him.

"That one looks nice." I said, pointing out a car that caught my attention.

"Ah, yes, that's a popular choice." The salesman informed us as he led us over towards the car. "This is the S5 Cabriolet."

"I like it." I said to Edward. "I like the convertibles."

"The one that _I_ have been wanting to look at is a convertible."

As soon as we got to the dealership Edward kept going on about a specific car that he wanted to look at. I brushed him off and said that I wanted to look around and pick the car for myself, but of course he wouldn't shut the fuck up. So I indulged him.

"Fine. Let's look at it." I said.

"What was it that you wanted to see, sir?" The salesman asked.

"I'd like to look at the R8 Spyder."

The salesman raised his eyebrows a little, seemingly surprised that we wanted to look at such an expensive car.

"Yes, certainly, right this way." He said, turning and leading us across the way.

"It's going to take your breath away." Edward said, smiling at me widely.

"We'll see." I said, shrugging. "I really liked that S5, though. I think I might want to go back to that one."

I was wrong.

Edward was right.

It was love at first sight.

The Spyder was beautiful. The word beautiful didn't even do it justice. It was stunning. It was striking. It was indescribable.

I had to have it.

"This baby is a beast." The salesman started to explain, smiling at us. "It's got all the bells and whistles. We're talking V-ten, five point two FSI, and zero to sixty in three point seven."

"Can I touch it?" I whispered, barely even able to speak.

"Certainly." The salesman answered, laughing. "Let me go get my supervisor for you. I know he's going to want to talk to you about this car himself. I'll be right back."

As he walked away I reached out to run my fingertips over the hood.

"What do you think?" Edward asked, circling around the car.

"I think I just came a little bit."

Edward chuckled and completed his circle around the car, coming up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and brushed some of my hair away to kiss the side of my neck.

"You would look so fucking sexy in this car."

"That's not saying much." I answered, laughing. "Anyone would look sexy in this car. Gary Busey would look sexy in this car."

"Mm…you would look so good bent over that hood…begging me to fuck you harder…"

I tilted my head to the side and drew in a deep breath as Edward placed another hot kiss on my neck.

I was getting turned on, but that very well could have been from looking at the car.

"I want it." I breathed, coming out more like a moan.

"Want what? The car or the fucking?"

Both.

"The car. I want the car."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. We'll get it."

"Just like that? You don't want to ask any questions or test drive it?"

"I have no questions. I told you this is the one I wanted to look at. I've had my eye on it for a while. I know all of the features and specs on it. Even if you didn't like it I probably would have ended up getting it for myself at some point."

"Oh."

"You want the car, I want to fuck you on the car, so we'll get the car."

I smiled widely and turned around in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I'm going to look like such a badass in this car."

Unfortunately, I couldn't drive my car off of the lot that day. Edward wanted to make sure that we got every single available feature and upgrade and that it was in the color I wanted, white. So, I would have to wait a couple of weeks before we could pick it up. It was hard to leave empty handed after falling so deeply in love with the car, but I knew that it would be worth it once I got my baby.

I think I annoyed Edward on the way home, but I couldn't help it. My excitement level was so far out the roof that I couldn't even contain it in my body. The more I thought about the car, the more excited I got. It literally started to physically manifest. I was bouncing around in my seat like a four year old fucked up on Pixy Stix. I ignored everything Edward said to me, only having eyes for the pictures on my phone that I had taken of the car.

Thankfully for my dad, I showered and got myself together before he arrived. But I didn't dress myself in layers of make up or the fancy clothes that Edward bought me. I just wanted to look like Bella; the Bella that my dad knew.

"So, how's Alice? I like that girl." My dad said from across the table. We were at a little pub that I liked, having a beer.

The plan was to meet Edward up at a burger place down the street afterwards for dinner.

I felt my stomach turn at the mention of Alice. All we'd talked about thus far was my dad's problematic knee; the reason that he was in town in the first place. But now we were starting to get into more dangerous territory.

I decided to take the band aid approach of ripping it off and getting the pain over with. I should just tell him.

"Actually, Alice and I are kind of going through a rough patch."

"Oh, really? That's too bad. She's a sweet kid."

My dad had met Alice a few times and I knew that he thought highly of her. It was understandable. Alice was good with parents. And after what my dad said were poor choices of friends in high school, he was happy when I started hanging around with Alice. He thought she was a good influence on me.

"Yeah, she is. But we're working everything out. We'll be fine. She's a good friend." I said with a nod.

"Well what the hell happened?" He asked curiously before taking another swig of beer.

_Come on Bella, just say it._

"I uh…well," I paused and bit my lip as I tried to choose my words. "I've was hanging out with her brother. And I didn't tell her about it."

"Does 'hanging out' mean dating?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean yes. I was dating him. I am dating him. And I didn't tell her about it at first. When I did, well, she was upset."

"Hmm." He hummed before another swig. "Well, I can see why she would be upset. That's probably something you should have talked to her about, Bells."

"I know. I should have. And I apologized to her for it."

"Well, good. So this boy…you're still seeing him despite Alice being upset about it?"

I took a sip of beer and took my time swallowing.

"Yes." I answered.

"I'm assuming it's somewhat serious if you've decided it's worth Alice being upset over." He said, looking at me questioningly.

"It is." I said, nodding.

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"A few months." I said with a shrug.

"So it's serious but you're just now telling me about it?"

"Well, that's why I'm telling you…because it just got serious." I answered, chewing on my lip.

"You look nervous. How serious are we talking? Are you pregnant?"

"What? No! No. I am definitely not pregnant, dad."

"Well what did you mean by serious then?"

I sighed and put my beer down.

"Okay, look. I'm not going to beat around the bush with you, dad." I said, reaching into my pocket.

"Okay?" He answered, looking at me with confusion.

I dug my beautiful ring out of my pocket and set it down in the middle of the table.

"That's how serious." I said, looking up at him.

He stared at the ring for a moment and then took a gulp of beer before looking at me.

"You're engaged?"

"Yes."

"I guess that's better than pregnant."

I heard the light tone in his voice and that helped me to relax a little.

"Way to look at the silver lining, dad." I answered, laughing a little.

"You've thought this through? This seems a little fast, Bells."

Time to be an actress.

"I know it seems fast, and I guess it is, but I promise that I've thought it through. I mean, come on, you know me. You've raised me well. I have a good head on my shoulders. I don't do things like this without thinking about it first. Edward is a great guy. He's a good match for me. And I want to do this."

"He treats you well?"

"Yes. He treats me wonderfully. He's sweet to me and he spoils me and he's exactly the kind of person I need."

"Well, that's all I've ever wanted for you as far as a man goes. All I ask is that you're with someone who loves you and treats you right."

"He does."

"He better."

"He _does_. He's great, dad." I said with a smile, glad that he reacted the way I'd thought and hoped he would.

"I do have to say, though. I'm a little hurt that you went and got engaged to some guy I haven't even met yet. Isn't he supposed to ask for my permission or something?"

"I knew you'd say that. And I knew you'd want to meet him. So I made plans for us to have dinner with him."

"Wait, I'm about to meet him right now?"

"Is that okay?"

"Well, I mean, I guess now is as good a time as any. I'm just a little surprised. This is a lot to take in. I woke up this morning not even knowing you were seeing someone and now about to go meet your fiancé?"

"I know it's a lot. And I'm sorry. I probably should have told you sooner, but you know how I am. I keep everything to myself all the time. And we've never talked about boys and stuff. But thank you for being so cool about it."

"Well don't jump the gun, Bells. We'll see how cool I am about it after I meet him."

"Okay." I said, smiling.

"I guess I should say congratulations."

"Thanks, dad." I laughed.

"You know I don't have much, but I do have a little something saved up. I knew this day would come at some point, so I've set a little bit aside here and there. I kno-"

"Dad, stop right there." I said, holding my hand up. "I don't want you to even start _thinking_ about paying for this wedding. Edward is…well, we've got it under control. Take whatever money you've saved up and splurge on something nice for yourself."

"Bella, I'm your father. You're my little girl. There are certain things I'm supposed to do for you, and you're wedding is one of them."

"That is…sweet, dad. It really is. And I genuinely do appreciate that you like to do things for me and you want to give me as much as you can. Not just now, but you've always been like that. And I love that about you. You're so giving. But," I paused for moment, not sure how to word what I wanted to say. "Edward is well off. He's a bit older and he has a career established and everything. I don't want you to spend your hard earned money on a frivolous wedding when it's absolutely no burden for Edward to finance himself. It's _our_ wedding. It's not your responsibility to pay for it."

"Wait, older? How much older?"

"What?"

"You said Edward is a bit older."

"Oh, yeah. He's thirty two."

"Thirty two? Geez, Bells. Don't you think that's a bit old for you?"

"No." I answered with a shrug. "I mean, maybe it sounds like it. But I don't even notice the age difference. It's fine."

"But you're only twenty one. That's pretty young to be getting married in the first place. Especially to a thirty two year old man."

I sighed and took another sip of beer.

"Let's not talk about Edward anymore. I got the hard part of the way by telling you. But you should wait and meet him before you form an opinion of him."

"I guess…" He grumbled before a gulp of beer.

.

.

.

.

As I'd asked, my dad didn't bring up Edward again as we finished our beers. I texted Edward to tell him we were ready to meet up with him at the burger place and then hung out at the pub for a little longer with my dad while we waited for him to arrive. He texted me as he was parking and my dad I started making our way down the street to the restaurant.

Our timing was perfect because we arrived at the front door right as Edward did.

"Hey." I said as he approached us.

"Hi, beautiful." He answered with a bright smile, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

"Dad," I said, turning to my father. "This is Edward. Edward, this is my dad, Charlie."

"I'm thrilled to finally have the pleasure of meeting you, Mr. Swan." Edward said, extending his hand.

"I'm glad to meet you too, although I can't say finally. I didn't even know Bella was seeing anyone until today." My dad answered as he took Edward's hand and shook it. "And please, call me Charlie."

"Well please allow me to apologize for not being able to meet you sooner. But Isabella and I have been keeping our relationship completely discreet up until very recently."

"You're going by Isabella these days?" My dad asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

"No." I said, having to resist the urge to roll my eyes. "It's just him."

"I'm partial to her full name." Edward injected, chuckling softly. "It's a gorgeous name, fitting for such a gorgeous young woman." He added, taking my hand.

My dad scoffed at that, making me smile.

Edward's parents may buy into all of that romantic sweet talking bullshit, but not my dad. I could tell that he was unimpressed.

"Well, let's stop blocking this doorway and get inside." My dad said, gesturing to the glass doors. "I'm starving."

Conversation didn't take off right away and unfortunately things felt a little awkward. I felt kind of bad for my dad. I'd just dropped this big bomb on him and he was handling it like a champ. I wish that he and Edward would have hit it off immediately and that things would have been totally comfortable, but at the same time I wasn't surprised when that wasn't the case.

Ordering our food at the counter, for which Edward insisted on paying, and then filling our drinks only gave us something to keep our hands busy with for so long. We inevitably ended up sitting at a booth in an uncomfortable silence, me and Edward on one side and my dad on the other.

"So, Edward, what do you do for a living?" My dad asked.

"I'm a Lawyer." Edward responded. "However, that's not the only area of business that I've taken part in. I'm an investor in a few businesses in the area as well as a player in the real estate market. I've acquired quite a few properties over the years. Some I've kept, some I've flipped and sold, and some I hold onto just for the purpose of renting out to businesses and such."

Properties? I didn't know that Edward owned any property other than his house.

"Wow. That's…impressive." My dad answered, seeming not sure of what else to say to that.

"Thank you." Edward replied with a smile.

"You certainly seem to be very accomplished."

"I'm a firm believer in hard work."

"I can see that. So, Bella tells me that you two know each other through your sister?"

"Yes, that's right." Edward confirmed.

"She also tells me that Alice isn't too happy about this relationship. You're alright with your own sister being upset over your engagement?"

"Well I would certainly prefer to have her blessing, yes. But her discontent with our relationship isn't going to stop from marrying the woman I love. Although I admit that we should have told her about our romantic interest in one another sooner, I can't withhold my feelings for your daughter. And I shouldn't have to. Love is love, and I'm just an all too willing victim to it."

What the fuck?

Edward really needed to cut the sappy shit. Not only was it annoying to me, but I knew my dad well enough to know that he probably found it obnoxious as well.

"What do your parents think of this?" My dad asked.

"They're thrilled." Edward replied happily.

"Edward's mother, Esme, has been so sweet." I cut in. "She wants to help me with all of the wedding planning and everything and she's going to go dress shopping with me too. I think Alice might even come."

"Well that is nice, but isn't your own mother supposed to do those things with you? Have you even told her yet?" He asked.

"I wanted to tell you first." I explained. "And of course she can help me plan and dress shop if she wants to, but I doubt she will. She'll probably only come in for the actually wedding. You know how she hates being away from Phil, and he's not going to want to come for dress shopping and all that."

"You don't think she'll want to help plan?"

I shrugged.

"I doubt it. She's not the type to get all excited about a wedding. And besides, we're not even that close. I've barely seen any of the woman since I was ten years old."

"True." He grumbled back in response.

"Well I know that my mother is delighted to be able to help with the planning. She'll be overjoyed to help in whatever way she's needed." Edward said.

"That's nice that your folks are so supportive." My dad answered.

"Yes, it is. We can only hope to have the same support from you, sir."

"Well I can't yet tell you what my opinion is of you either way, Edward. Obviously I don't know you well enough. But I've always tried to support Bella in everything she does as best as I can. She's my little girl and well, I love her probably more than she realizes." He said, looking over at me and smiling. "And she's a good kid. She assures me that she's thought this through and that you make her happy and that's all that really matters to me. All I want for her is happiness. And if her happiness means you, then hey, I'll welcome you with open arms. You just better not give me a reason to regret it."

"I won't, sir." Edward answered, flashing his bright smile. "Thank you. I sincerely appreciate your open-mindedness."

"You're welcome. I like to think of myself as a pretty accepting guy."

"You are, dad." I told.

"I'm a pretty cool dude, right?"

"Yes, dad. You're a very cool dude."

.

.

.

.

All in all, dinner with my father was pretty uneventful. But hey, that's what I had been hoping for. We kept up conversation through dinner, but it remained light, nothing serious. Thankfully, my dad had reacted to my news the way that I'd thought he would. Of course he had a few questions, but all he really cared about was that I was happy. All I had to do was convince him that I was happy and in love and had thought everything through. As long as I'd reassured him of that, he was content.

I did feel a little bit guilty for lying to him, but I also found ways to lessen the burden for myself. I simply reminded myself over and over again of the bottom line of my dad's thought process. The bottom line was that he trusted my judgment and my ability to make a life changing decision for myself in a positive way. Although I wasn't being truthful about being in love with Edward, I was still using my good judgment to make a positive decision for myself. I was bettering my life. How could that be wrong?

Because my dad and I knew we were going to be drinking at the pub before dinner, we'd taken a cab there. Therefore, Edward was the only one of us with a car. He offered to take my dad back to his hotel and then drive me home, but my dad turned down the offer. His hotel was in the opposite direction of my apartment, so it just made more since for him to take a cab again. I promised to have brunch with him the next morning and then Edward and I both said our goodbyes to him.

"Well that went rather well I think." Edward commented as he pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex.

"I told you it would. All he cares about is that I'm happy. And I think I did a decent job at convincing him that I'm happy with you."

"Oh, but aren't you?" He asked, smirking over at me as he pulled into a parking space.

"I'll be happy when I get my new car." I said, smiling widely.

"Is that all you're going to talk about for the next two weeks?" He asked, putting the car in park and turning it off.

"Yes. It is."

"Well I'm glad that you're excited. It's a magnificent car."

"If by that you mean that it's sexy as fuck, then yes. I agree with you."

"Always using an articulate vocabulary, Isabella." He answered, chuckling.

"Well, thanks for bringing me home."

"You're welcome." He responded as he opened his door and moved to step out of the car.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm walking you to your door."

"Why?"

"Well I'm certainly not going to let you walk through this perilous parking lot on your own in the dark. This place is atrocious. The crime rate here must be horrible."

I scoffed as I got out of the car. He was acting like I'd never walked through that parking lot in the dark before, but whatever. I'd humor him.

We walked across the parking lot and up the steps to my apartment in silence. Once we got to my front door I turned to him and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for being so composed about everything in front of my dad. And thanks for the ride."

"You're not going to invite your fiancé inside?" He asked, signature smirk plastered on his stupid face.

"For what?"

"Well I'd like to see your apartment. I want to see where you live. I'm curious."

I sighed. This was exactly what I'd been trying to avoid; Edward seeing my apartment. I really don't know why I cared so much. I think it had to do with the fact that Edward put so much value on money. I felt like he liked to show off how wealthy he was and that everything he did was somehow about money.

I guess I felt like he would judge me.

"Well what if I don't want you to see my apartment?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Why do you even care? Why do you care where I live?"

"I told you. I'm curious."

"You're not going to leave until I let you in, are you?"

"All I have to do is stand here and wait until you unlock the door for yourself and then walk on in."

"What makes you think I'd let you past me? You'd have to fight your way through me."

"You're like five feet tall and a hundred pounds. I could knock you over like a bowling pin."

"Um, I five foot _three_. And a hundred and _ten_ pounds, thank you very much."

"Same still applies."

"Fine." I huffed as I shoved my key into the lock. "Come in and see my messy, shitty apartment." I mumbled to myself as I unlocked the door. "I don't give a fuck."

I walked in, Edward trailing behind me, and flicked the lights on. Of course, the one night Edward decides to pop in, the place was a fucking mess. I closed the door behind us and he lingered in the entry way while I walked in and kicked my shoes off.

"Okay, you've seen it. Happy?" I asked.

"It's…cute."

"Yeah, it's adorable. Well, thanks for stopping by."

I jumped a little bit in surprise when I felt Edward's arms wrap around my waist from behind, much like he'd done at the car dealership.

"If I didn't know any better, Isabella," He said softly as he pulled my body back against his and kissed my neck. "I'd say you're trying to get rid of me."

My eyes fluttered closed when I felt his tongue against my skin.

"What?" I asked, not even having comprehended what he just said.

He didn't answer me, maybe because his mouth was busy. He was now doing this tortuous sucking thing on my neck in alternation with his tongue lavishing my skin. It felt incredible, but I wanted that tongue in my mouth.

I turned around in his arms so that I was facing him and lifted my hands to rest on his hard biceps. He caught on to what I wanted and kissed me as soon as I was facing him. He slid his tongue into my mouth and hummed contently as I circled mine around it. When he withdrew his tongue back into his own mouth I took the opportunity to take his bottom lip between my teeth and bite down gently. The moan/growl noise that he made told me that he liked it, so I bit down just a little bit harder.

In no time at all our make out session became just as heated as it had every other time. Our kisses were becoming steadily more aggressive. When his hands slipped down from my hips to grab my ass and pull me harder up against his body, allowing me to feel his growing erection, I actually made a whimpering whining sound.

I wanted that cock.

This time, I wanted it more than tacos.

I eagerly cooperated when his hands used their position on my ass as leverage to lift me up. I moved my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist, still molding my lips to his as he carried me across the room. I was kind of hoping that he was carrying me towards the bedroom, but was content enough when he instead sat down on the couch with me straddling him.

As we continued our game of tonsil hockey, I ran my hands up and down his sculpted arms. I loved feeling his hard and chiseled body underneath mine. He felt exactly like a man was supposed to feel.

After a while, forcing myself to break our heated kiss was inevitable. I had to pull away to catch my breath or else I was going to die.

And I was not about to die without driving my new car first.

Apparently, Edward was a mutant creature that didn't need air; because as soon as I pried my lips away from his, he went right back to sucking on my neck. But this time, it was with a renewed fervor that had my toes curling. He was sucking so hard you could hear it, and oh what a wonderful sound it was.

"Don't give me a hickey." I managed to gasp between my panting.

He nodded and released my skin, kissing a trail up my neck to my ear, where he flicked my earlobe with his tongue. I could handle earlobe flicking, but of course Edward couldn't be so simple. It wasn't just his tongue teasing me that had me whimpering and squirming around on his lap in search of friction. It was the tongue teasing combined with his hands, hands which were creeping up under the fabric of shirt to caress the bare skin on my stomach and sides.

"You like grinding up against my thick, hard cock, don't you?" He breathed into my ear. "You can't even sit still."

"Yes." I breathed, willing to comply with anything he said as long he kept doing what he was doing.

"Are you getting wet for me, Isabella? Do I make your pussy wet?"

Both of his hands were now at the button of my jeans, toying with it teasingly but not having yet popped it open.

"Mm…" I whimpered, lifting one hand to tug on his hair.

"Answer me, Isabella."

"Edward…" I moaned, grinding down on him again.

"That doesn't answer my question."

He grazed his teeth on my earlobe as he popped open the button of my jeans and I felt a new gush between my legs.

"Yes, God yes…I'm so wet for you."

I don't know why I was so fucking turned on, but I think some of it may have been leftover sexual tension from the night before.

"Yeah? Are you turned on?"

"Yes…" I groaned, wanting him to just take off my fucking pants already and put something in me.

"Hmm, well, I guess you can always rub one out after I leave then."

"What?" I breathed, confused.

"I'm just offering you the same advice you gave me last night."

"What?" I asked again, starting to catch on but thinking that surely he must be joking.

"I have a sudden craving for lasagna and I've got a frozen one at home waiting for me." He answered, sliding me off of his lap so that I was sitting on the couch next to him.

"_What?"_

"Yeah, I know, it sucks." He said, standing up and adjusting himself. "But it's okay, right? I mean, you can just rub one out after I leave. That's what you told _me_ to do."

"_What?"_

Was he fucking serious? Was that the whole fucking reason he'd wanted to come up with me in the first place? So he could get some kind of stupid childish revenge?

"Wait, you're not _mad_, are you? You're not _irritated_ that I'm leaving you here all hot and bothered with no release, are you?"

"I fucking _needed_ those tacos!"

"Goodnight, Isabella." He said, smirking at me as he walked to the front door.

I stood up and followed him, enraged.

"Are you serious? Please tell me you're joking…" I said as he opened the door.

"No, definitely not joking. I'm just as serious about leaving now as you were last night."

"You…you…you're…" I trailed off, fuming.

"Goodnight. Good luck with your…issue." He said, walking out and closing the door behind him.

I lunged at the door and flung it open to find him walking down the stairs. He was really leaving.

"YOU'RE A FUCKING PUSSYTEASE!" I screamed after him.

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**A/N: **

**I know, I know, I'm so mean with all of the teasing and sexual tension building up between these two. Will it help if I tell you that the next chapter has penetration and orgasms? :)**

**After I posted the last chapter the review response feature on fanfic was down for a while, so I know that some people asked questions and requested responses that they never got. So, if you had a question that I didn't get to answer then by all means, ask again and please know that I didn't intentionally ignore you. **

**Last chapter got an astounding amount of reviews, which is part of the reason that I wanted to give yall an update so quickly. I guess it's kind of a thank you. Isn't it nice to be rewarded for your generous reviews? Yes, it is. SO, if you guys can by some miracle hit 2000, then I'll update within the next week. If not, I'll still try to get another one out relatively soon. **

**Thank you thank you thank you for all of the encouragement and support for this story. You guys really don't know what it means to me. It's the reason that I continue. It's my motivation.**

**Jenn**


	12. Mrs Cullen Part 1

**A/N:**

**I own nothing related to Twilight. The plot is mine, but I do not own any recognizable characters. **

**I promised penetration and orgasms, so you may want to go grab an extra pair of panties before you dig in ;)**

**This chapter is the longest chapter I've ever written to anything. It's a whopping 13,000 words. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case you don't have a lot of time, it may take a while to get through!**

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I'm a liar.

I'm a horrible person.

I'm a fucking prostitute.

I'm certainly going to hell for this.

I stood there underneath the flowery arch, facing Edward, freaking the fuck out. I could feel my eyes start to water and my chest rising and falling repetitively with my rapid breathing. To everyone watching, I probably appeared to be full of emotion on my big day. But that's wasn't it at all. In reality, I feared that I was on the verge of a panic attack.

I could feel the eyes of all our guests watching us. I felt so much pressure from their stares that I swore I could feel it searing into my skin. The walls were closing in on me, the roof caving. Hundreds of people watched me intently as I prepared to tell the biggest lie of my life. They may not have known the truth, but my psyche did. And man did my self-conscious lay into me. Negative thoughts raced through my mind, and they were all painfully true.

I was a deceiver, deceiving my friends and family into being genuinely happy for my impending marriage.

I was a whore, prostituting myself to Edward for his money.

I was a coward, taking the easy way out instead of using old fashioned hard work to get through school and build a better life for myself.

"Edward, do you take this woman to be your wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

I watched Edward smile, almost exultantly, and felt like I wanted to throw up. Why the hell was all of this so easy for him?

I wanted to yell at him to say no. I wanted to tell him that he was a fool for wanting to marry a girl like me, a common prostitute, but I couldn't. I felt like my heart was beating in my throat, preventing any words from forming.

"I do." Edward said confidently, his triumphant smile shifting into a smirk.

"Isabella, do you take this man to be your wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

I knew that I was supposed to speak then, but I felt frozen. I swallowed hard, trying to will myself to form words, but it wasn't working. My heart started beating faster, and part of me just wished I would go ahead and have the heart attack that I was surely on the verge of. Then I could escape from this charade, or maybe wake up from this glorious dream; this impossible fairytale.

The longer that I stayed silent, the more Edward's smile started to fade. It was slowly replaced with a look of worry and nervousness.

"Isabella?" Our preacher asked patiently.

I closed my eyes just for a moment as I swallowed, begging my voice to come back to me.

I wanted this. I'd made my decision. I was going to be Edward's wife.

"I-" I finally croaked. "I do."

And just like that, it was done. There really was no turning back now. I'd given myself to Edward. I was all in.

I glanced over at the preacher who nodded his head once at me and then back to Edward as relief seemed to wash over his face.

"What do you give to each other as a symbol of this pledge?"

Edward smiled once again as he reached into his pocket and pulled out my ring. He held out his hand for mine, which felt like a hundred pounds as I raised it and offered it to him.

"This ring is a token of my devotion." He said as he slid it smoothly onto my finger. "I marry you with this ring, with all that I have and all that I am."

Alice quietly approached from where she stood behind me, as my maid of honor, and discreetly handed me Edward's ring before returning to her place. I took a deep breath as I took Edward's hand in mine and slid his ring onto his long and slender finger.

"This ring is a token of my devotion." I told him. We'd purposely chosen to use the word devotion instead of love. It made our words feel somewhat sincere versus a flat out lie. "I marry you with this ring, with all that I have and all that I am."

"Since Edward and Isabella have pledged their love and commitment to each other before these witnesses, I declare that they are husband and wife. Edward, you may now kiss your bride."

I breathed a sigh of relief as Edward's lips descended upon mine, glad that it was finally over.

He kissed me innocently, just slightly lingering, and then laced his fingers through mind and led me back down the aisle. I ignored the smiling faces that we passed by and focused on the wooden double doors at the back of the room that would lead me to freedom from the suffocating, happy atmosphere around us.

Actually, they led us to Ellen, the manager of the venue that we'd selected.

"Congratulations!" She squealed as the heavy wooden doors closed behind us.

"Thank you." Edward answered, smiling at her.

She led us down the hall and around the corner back to the room that my bridesmaids and I had been designated to get ready in. I knew that she would leave us there to be alone for a few minutes. She'd explained to us at our rehearsal that it was customary for the bride and groom to take some time to be alone for a little while straight after the ceremony while the guests made their way to the reception hall. So I wasn't surprised when she let us into the room and then left us immediately, mentioning over her shoulder that she would come back for us when they were ready for us to join the reception.

"You look positively stunning." Edward said to me quietly as the door closed behind Ellen.

It was the first time I'd been alone with him since the rehearsal and one of the only times I'd been alone with him in weeks. He'd been traveling a lot the past couple months, and I really hadn't seen much of him at all. Most of our communication had been through phone calls and emails. Even the limited number of times I had seen him, I was usually only accompanying him to a public event.

"Thank you."

Alice had insisted that we stick to the traditional rule against the groom seeing the bride before the wedding. The first time Edward had seen my dress was as I walked down the aisle, and the way that his eyes traveled up and down my body as I approached him was something that I would never forget.

I stepped out of my torturous heels and sat down on the plush loveseat, reaching down to rub my foot.

"For a minute there I thought you were going to back out on me."

I looked up at him and shrugged.

"I got a little nervous."

"Were you _thinking_ about backing out?"

"No." I said truthfully.

I'd felt nervous, and maybe even guilty, but I'd never actually let myself consider backing out. I'd made my decision, and I was sticking to it.

"Well," He started, coming over to sit next to me on the loveseat. "Congratulations, Mrs. Cullen."

I laughed and turned to face him, catching I waft of his cologne.

"Thank you, husband."

"Mm, that's right." He answered, leaning towards me and tilting his head a little to one side. "I'm your husband now. You know what that means?"

"What?" I asked, my eyes automatically darting down to his lips.

He leaned forward more until our lips were touching and then spoke against them.

"You're completely mine now."

I sucked in a breath, smelling the spearmint and cigarettes on his.

"I suppose I am."

"I could have you right now if I wanted to…" He said softly, lips brushing against mine.

Part of me wanted to moan, and part of me wanted to scream. All we'd done since the first time we'd kissed was tease each other mercilessly. I really thought that if he got me all worked up and the failed to deliver _one more time_ I was going to explode with tension.

"But, no. I think I'll wait for that. I think I'll wait until we get to Venice, and fuck you properly."

"That's right." I smiled, his lips still against mine. "Next is Italy!"

"Actually, I think next is the reception. We have some mingling and entertaining to do before Italy, my beautiful wife."

I groaned as he laughed, leaning back out of my personal space again.

"I seriously wish we could just skip this stupid reception. I want to be in Italy! I don't want to spend my night mingling with your boring business friends and saying hi to everyone when I know that Venice is waiting for me!"

"Don't worry." Edward said, loosening his tie just slightly. "I'm sure it will go by quickly."

He couldn't have been more wrong.

The reception…was hell.

Edward paraded me around the room all night, keeping me close to his side with his arm around my waist, as we made monotonous chit chat with his contacts and business associates. Edward definitely knew more people than I did, and he definitely had more guests at the wedding than I did. We did get to sit and enjoy dinner at a big round table with our families, but pretty much every minute of the rest of our time was spent playing host and hostess. It sucked. And it was totally the last thing that I wanted to be doing.

While it wasn't _really _my 'big day' in the traditional sense, it was my 'big day' in some ways. It was a life-changing, exciting, and monumental day for me. I wanted to spend it in Italy, or at least on my way. Not playing the charming little trophy wife. However, that's exactly what I signed up for. So, I did my best to grin and bear it.

I tried to be as sociable and delightful as I could for Edward's sake. If he was giving me financial stability among so many other things, not to mention taking me on my dream vacation, then the least I could do for him was keep up my pitiful end of the bargain. All he'd asked of me was to do my best at being the picture perfect wife that he so very much desired. So that's what I did. I smiled enthusiastically as his boring friends talked my ear off. I held his hand and doted over him as he drifted arrogantly amongst our guests, using his charm and big words to impress people. I smiled against his lips as he kissed me, usually as per a request for a picture, and I played the role of the blissfully happy newlywed.

I was even nice to Randall when he came over to congratulate us.

As I gazed out among the room full of guests, I smiled when I finally spotted a familiar face other than my family. Holly. I was the first to admit that I didn't have many friends; I wasn't much of a people-person. So it was nice to finally see someone from _my_ little bitty part of the guest list.

Holly and I had been hanging out a lot since I first met her months ago in class. Our personalities meshed even better than I'd first thought, and I genuinely had a lot of fun with her. I'd never really met someone before that reminded me so much of myself in so many ways, but we were actually a lot alike.

"Hey," I said to Edward as I gently pulled my hand from his. "I'm going to go say hi to one of my friends."

"I'll go with you." He said, retaking my hand. "I've never met any of your friends. You can introduce me."

"Okay."

I led Edward over to where I saw Holly. She was sitting at one of the large round tables, talking animatedly to the guy next to her. He was pretty cute and I assumed that he was her plus one. Holly, of course, looked just as gorgeous as always. Her long, honey colored hair was down and curled perfectly. Her dress was an emerald color and as far as I could tell from her sitting position, it flattered her figure phenomenally. I wasn't blind to the fact that she was stunningly attractive, and part of my wondered if Edward might think that she was prettier than me.

Once she noticed me approaching the table, she smiled widely at me. She stood up just as I was almost at the table and met me by pulling me into a big hug.

"Bella!" she squealed happily. "You look so gorgeous."

"Thanks, so do you." I said with a smile as I returned her hug.

"What a perfect wedding!" She said as she released me and took a step back. "The ceremony was gorgeous, your dress is gorgeous, and your groom" She paused and glanced over at Edward, letting her eyes do a quick sweep up and down his body. "Is gorgeous."

"Oh, yeah, speaking of which…I want you to meet him. Holly, this is my fian- I mean husband. This is my husband, Edward."

Edward chuckled softly and extended his hand to Holly.

"It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Holly." She answered, shaking Edward's hand as she gave him a charming smile.

By this time, the guy that had been sitting next to Holly and talking to her was now standing at her side. Although he was wearing a suit, this guy was still rather eccentric looking. He had a lower lip piercing on one side of his face and an eyebrow piercing on the other side. His hair was styled in a sort of faux-hawk. It wasn't totally shaved in the side, but it was buzzed short and spiked in the middle.

"Oh, this is my friend Embry." Holly said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Em, this is Bella."

"Hey, nice time meet you. And congratulations." He said, offering me his hand.

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you to." I said as I shook it.

Embry next offered his hand to Edward.

"Edward." My new husband said simply as he took the offered hand and shook it as well.

"Only a few more hours until you leave for Italy!" Holly said, knowing how excited I was.

"I know!" I answered. "I wish we could just leave already. I'm so excited it's like torture to have to wait."

"Have you been before?" Embry asked.

"No, I've never even been out of the country."

"Oh, you'll have a blast. I went the summer after I graduated high school. It was amazing."

"Isabella." Edward said softly.

I turned to look up at him. He was gazing off into the distance with a peculiar expression on his face. I tried to follow his eyes to see what he was looking at. I could tell the general direction in which he was gazing, but I didn't see anything in particular that should captivate his attention.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking back over at him.

"I'll be right back, okay?" He said, walking off before I could answer.

I tried looking back over in the direction he'd been looking again, and this time something actually did catch my attention. Edward was walking purposefully towards the back wall of the room, where there were two double doors leading out to the outside patio area. I looked over just in time to see a tall, slender, beautiful blonde woman slipping out through those doors. I would have only been able to see the back of her head and wouldn't have known who she was if she hadn't turned around to look over her shoulder, seemingly at Edward himself. Her face was perfectly recognizable to me as she looked tenaciously at Edward for a moment before turning back around, flipping her hair a bit over her shoulder, and disappearing outside. I watched as Edward continued on in that same direction after her, weaving his way through guests and tables.

"He calls you Isabella?" Holly asked, only mildly distracting me.

"Yeah. He likes my full name." I said with a shrug although I didn't take my eyes off of Edward.

Just as I suspected, Edward discreetly slipped out of the same doors that Rosalie had. It definitely evoked some curiosity. I'd only even seen Rosalie a handful of times, but even so it was clear to me that there was something very strange about the way that she and Edward interacted with each other. And being the nosey bitch that I was, I wanted to know what all the weirdness was about.

"Hey," I said as I turned back to Holly. "I've got to keep making my rounds to greet everyone so we can get out of here sooner than later. Thank you for being here, though. I'm really glad to see you. I'll talk you later, okay?"

"Yeah, for sure" she answered. "We're probably going to head out soon anyway. But have a blast in Italy, alright? You have to call me when you get home so you can tell me all about it."

"Yeah, definitely. I'll call you." I promised. "Nice to meet you, Embry."

"Yeah, you too." He answered.

I gave them both a small smile and then took off walking in the same path that Edward had taken.

Maybe I was overreacting and Edward was just going outside for a smoke break. But if that had been the case, why didn't he just tell me he was going to go smoke? And why was he acting so weird? And if that had been the case, why was he following Rosalie outside? And what was with the meaningful look she gave him?

When I got to the double doors I opened them slowly and only peaked outside, not wanting to immediately alert them to my presence so I could hopefully get some idea of what they were doing. I could hear their voices but I couldn't see them, so I went ahead and slipped through the doors before closing them so softly behind me you couldn't hear them. When I turned away from the doors to look for them, I spotted them through the branches of a nearby tree. They were speaking so softly I couldn't hear them so I moved closer to the tree to get closer, although making sure I remained unseen. I had to walk slowly so my heels wouldn't click against the bricks.

As I got closer I could see that Rosalie had her back against the brick wall and Edward was in front of her, hand up against the same wall at her side. He was directly in front of her so that if I'd been behind them it probably would have looked like they were kissing or doing something intimate like that. However, because I was looking at them from the side, I could clearly see that there was about a foot of space between them and Edward had a rather stern look on his face. Rosalie's face, on the other hand, had almost a taunting expression on it. Edward had his free hand hanging at his side, a lit cigarette balanced between his fingers.

I stayed still, concealed by the tree branches, and listened to their conversation.

"What do you want, Rosalie? Why are you even here? I thought you said you weren't coming."

"And miss this travesty? Are you kidding?" She asked with a smirk. "I _was_ invited, after all."

"A formality."

"What are you so worried about? If I wanted to ruin this for you, don't you think I would have done so a long time ago?"

"Maybe. But maybe not. I know how you like to play games."

"And _I_ know how _you_ like to play games. In fact, I know _exactly_ the way you like to play." She said suggestively.

"What do you want?" He asked again.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You're the one who followed me out here."

"I didn't expect to see you here. I was surprised, that's all."

"I have no vendetta against you, Edward. What kind of woman do you take me for?"

"Don't you think it's a little self-deprecating for you to be here?"

"No. And I think we both know why."

"I don't think we do."

"Of course we do. Do you love her?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Rosalie."

"Exactly."

"Ah, I see."

"I hope you're careful. Marriage is a whole new ball game. I hope you can trust her."

"Come on, Rose. You know me well enough to know that I'm nothing if not careful."

"I suppose you're right."

"And you of all people should also know that I'm certainly not a man of misleading notions. She knows what she signed up for."

"Well then I hope for her sake that she's nothing like me."

"She's not."

Rosalie suddenly lifted her hand to his cheek, a longing expression on her face, and for a moment I thought she might kiss him. However, she dropped her hand just as quickly. Edward smiled, almost sardonically, and leaned towards her. This time, I thought that _he_ might kiss _her_. However, he moved to the side of her head and to her ear, seemingly whispering something into it. There was no way I could have heard what he said. As he pulled back, he still had that mocking smile on his face. Rosalie's face, on the other hand, shifted into an expression of anger and something else. Maybe as if he'd hurt her feelings? Her hand rose to Edward's cheek again, but this time it was nothing like the gentle way she'd done before.

It was a slap.

I fully expected Edward to get angry, or at least irritated, but he did the exact opposite. He laughed. He didn't lift his hand to rub his cheek or anything. Instead, he chuckled at her as if she'd just told a good joke. Then, he shook his head at her as if she were a small child who'd just asked a ridiculous question.

"You're an emotionless pig." She said quietly, a wounded expression on her face.

The look on her face surprisingly almost made me feel bad for Rosalie. I desperately wanted to know what Edward said to her, but I couldn't exactly just walk on out from behind the tree and ask.

"Come on, Rose. You're above playing the victim."

Their conversation was making me uncomfortable. Maybe it was because I didn't understand what they were talking about. I understood the words they were saying to each other, but it was obvious that there was a much deeper meaning to it all then what I was catching on to. It was obvious that Rosalie was more to Edward than a business acquaintance or someone that simply ran in the same circle as him. They had some sort of history, and I couldn't put my finger on the reason that it irritated me. I concluded that I just didn't like her.

Not wanting to hear any more of their conversation, but not wanting to leave them back to it either, I decided I needed to make my presence known but still try not to reveal that I'd been listening. So, I crept back towards the doors and opened one just to shut it again, this time making sure that it made a noise. I turned back around and sure enough, Edward and Rosalie whipped their heads around immediately in my direction. To them, it would have looked like I just then had come outside.

Right away, Edward took a step away from the wall and Rosalie, putting some distance between them.

"Hi." I said, glancing at Rosalie and then looking at Edward.

"Hey, I just came out for a smoke." He said as he lifted his cigarette to his lips and took a drag, almost as evidence.

"Oh. You should have told me, I would have come out to join you."

"Join me now."

I glanced over at Rosalie again who to my surprise was staring at me curiously.

"Well," She said, pushing herself off the wall. "I guess I'll be going back inside. You two newlyweds enjoy yourselves."

"Enjoy the party." Edward said between drags.

"I will." She said, walking back towards the doors. "Oh, and Isabella?" She said, stopping and turning back around to face me.

"Call me Bella."

"Congratulations, Bella." She smiled at me, perfectly poised and charming.

"Thank you." I said, trying to smile just as sweetly.

She turned back around again and went back inside without another word, heels clicking against the brick patio as she strutted her way back in.

"I would have asked you to come out and smoke with me, but I didn't want to be rude to your friends. I wanted you to be able to visit with them."

"Does she know?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Does who know what?"

"Rosalie. Does she know? About, you know…our agreement."

He stayed quiet for a long time, a thoughtful expression on his face as he occupied his mouth with his cigarette.

"I suppose it's likely that she has an idea of what we've agreed to. Although, I can't confirm that she knows, per se…if that's the type of answer you're looking for." He finally answered.

The vagueness in his cryptic answer annoyed me.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think she knows but you don't know?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, that's what I meant."

"How do you not know if she knows? That doesn't even make sense."

"You're right. I guess I can say no, she does not know."

"I thought you just said that she probably knows."

"I meant it's likely that she assumes."

"Why do you have to be so cryptic? Why can't you just give me a straight answer?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to know if she knows or not. I don't care, I just want to know."

"Well considering that I didn't tell her, and I would think that's it safe to assume that _you_ didn't tell her, I don't think that either one of us can ascertain that she _knows_."

"However?" I asked, knowing that he wasn't finished.

"However, I _can_ say with a fair amount of confidence that I presume she's very much acutely aware of the situation between us."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, frustrated. It was weird how his big words and cryptic statements could aggravate me but in a strange way kind of turn me on too. I think it was the mystery factor behind it. However, in this specific circumstance, it just annoyed me.

"What has you irritated?"

"You. Sometimes it feels like you use your big words and vague sentences to annoy me."

"I'm sorry. I assure you that wasn't my intention."

"Why can't you just put everything in Layman's terms for me? Not that I'm not intelligent enough to understand what you're saying, but it's exhausting sometimes to have to decode the enigmatic things you say. Particularly when it's about things that I have a hard time understanding, such as what you're saying about Rosalie."

"Layman's terms? Right, well, to put things simply…Rosalie's not stupid. Far from it, actually. I imagine that she assumes correctly, yes."

"But why Rosalie?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you say that she's not stupid so you imagine she knows, but if it were that simple everyone would know. Our families aren't stupid either; do you think they all know too?"

Suddenly Edward's expression changed, eerily almost resembling that of someone who'd just realized that they had said too much.

"Let's not talk about Rosalie anymore." He said, expression changing yet again as he smiled enthusiastically at me. "It's unimportant. Let's just try to enjoy our evening."

I really wanted to know about Rosalie, but when it came down to it, it really just simply wasn't my business. It wasn't my place to question him about it and he didn't owe me an explanation. We weren't in a _real_ relationship, and he wasn't obligated to tell me about her.

"Okay." I said, seeing no choice other than letting it go.

"Now, moving on to more significant things," He said, a smirk slowly spreading across his lips. "I haven't been able to keep my eyes off of you all night." He continued as he moved slowly towards me. "Even more so, I haven't been able to keep my mind off of what's under that dress."

"Hey, don't even start." I said, pointing my finger at him.

"Why not?" He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Because. First things first, we've got to get out of this stupid reception. And I've got to get out this dress."

"Yes, you do." He agreed in a husky tone as he leaned in to kiss my neck softly.

"I didn't mean it like that." I laughed.

"Mhmm, sure you didn't."

"I'm serious. I just meant it's uncomfortable."

"Well I'd have no problem taking it off for you. I'm eager, in fact." He said before kissing my neck again.

"Which is why we can't start this now." I said, letting my eyes flutter closed. "I don't want to spend the next half hour out here making out like stupid teenagers."

"You want to get out of here?"

"Fuck yes." I breathed.

.

.

.

.

Being my stubborn self, stuck in my stubborn ways, I didn't listen to anyone when they tried to tell me that Edward and I should stay somewhere locally and wait until the next morning to leave for Italy. I wanted to get there literally as soon as possible, so of course I demanded that we leave for the airport straight from the reception. Alice, being the thorough maid of honor that she was, even made sure that our luggage was waiting for us in the car that would be taking us to catch our plane.

Although things with Alice still weren't perfect, they were definitely better. There was still some underlying tension surrounding the wedding, but even so she had still been a great maid of honor. She helped me a lot with all of the planning. Actually, more like I had helped her. She had pretty much done everything herself. I couldn't have done it without her, and I was grateful that she was willing to at least put our differences aside for the wedding.

So, as a result of my stubbornness, Edward and I were both already exhausted by the time we settled in for our insanely long flight. Well, Edward was exhausted. I was flat out delirious. On top of my own exhaustion, Alice had given me some Dramamine which I took when we stopped for a short layover in New York. I thought it would just help me relax enough to be able to fall asleep for a little while on the plane. But mixed with how exhausted I was to start with, I could barely even keep my eyes open long enough to get on the actual plane and sit down. My vision was blurry and dull. I'd never been so incapacitated in my entire life.

I thought I'd sleep for a couple hours tops.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up in fucking Italy.

I awoke with a jolt; the first thought entering my foggy mind being that my neck was incredibly sore. I rubbed at my eyes, opening and shutting them a few times as I tried to clear the fuzziness.

"Ow…" I winced, moving one hand to rub at the back of my neck.

"Sore?" Edward asked, looking over at me.

"Yes…" I mumbled, tilting my head side to side.

"I figured you would be. You slept with your head on my shoulder the entire time. I think you may have even drooled a little on my shirt." He said, his face scrunching up a little in distaste.

"I don't even remember falling asleep, but I feel like I slept really fucking good."

"I would imagine. You didn't move an inch. And you actually fell asleep before we even left New York. I've never seen someone be so sensitive to Dramamine."

"Yeah well I don't think you're supposed to take it when you're so exhausted to start with."

"No, probably not."

"Where are we, anyway?"

"I believe we're just about to land. You woke up just in time."

"What? Land where? I thought we only had one layover."

"We did."

"We're already in Italy?"

"I certainly hope so, or else it appears that I've purchased the wrong tickets." He said flatly.

"Don't be a smartass. But seriously, I really slept that long?"

"Yes."

"Wow." I said, beyond surprised that I managed to sleep that long and that soundly on a plane. "That's like a full night of sleep."

"I know."

"Did you sleep?"

"Only a little while. I tried to stay awake as much as possible."

"Why?"

"Because it's about nine PM here in Venice right now. If I'd slept too long I wouldn't be able to sleep at all tonight."

"What the hell?" I asked incredulously.

"What?"

"Why did you let me sleep, then? I don't want _my _sleeping schedule all fucked up. Now I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"You're so stubborn you would have slept anyway."

"Yeah, probably, but you could have at least warned me. I didn't think it would be that late here already. We left Seattle at eleven."

"You have to take the time difference into account."

"Right. Man, I'm starving." I said, feeling my stomach growl.

"We can order room service once we get to the hotel if you'd like."

"You don't want to go out?"

"Not really, I'm tired. It's almost time for bed." He said, smirking at me.

"Asshole…" I mumbled, fastening my seatbelt as the indicating light flicked on.

.

.

.

.

On the way from the airport to the hotel, I was very much awake. Not only was I awake, but I was practically clawing at the car windows, not wanting to miss one second of the breathtaking scenery around me.

"Edward, this is _gorgeous_." I said, face pressed up to the window. "No, gorgeous doesn't even begin to cover it. This is even better than I imagined it would be."

"It is lovely, but you should calm down. There will be plenty of time for site-seeing tomorrow, in the daylight."

"It's just so…gorgeous." I said, unable to think of a better word.

"Wait until you see our hotel."

"Fuck the hotel. I could sleep on these fucking streets and be totally content. This place is amazing."

"Ah, speaking of the hotel, here it is." He said as our car slowed to a stop.

_Clearly I spoke too soon._

"_This_ is where we're staying?"

It was very tall, but compact width wise. The walls were a stucco type texture, a warm mustard color. The balconies were lined with black wrought iron, intricate curly designs adorning them. It was gorgeous. It was stunning. It was something you would imagine in a fairytale.

"We have the entire top floor to ourselves."

"The entire _floor_?" I asked, astounded at the thought.

"Yes. It's the most exquisite suite in the area."

"Come on!" I said, practically launching myself out of the car. "I want to _see_ it!"

I stood on the sidewalk, bouncing up and down like an over energized little kid, as I waited for Edward's slow ass to get out of the car too. One of the bellhop dudes from the hotel rushed immediately over to us, happily lifting our luggage out of the car and loading it onto his little dolly thing. I didn't know what any of these things were actually called in Italy, so I was really just calling the shots as I saw them.

When we checked in at the front desk, I was surprised to find that Edward spoke to the staff in completely fluent Italian.

_How many times has he been to Italy?_

He conversed with the woman on the other side of the counter, typing away on a computer. She smiled and giggled at him obnoxiously while he carried on in the gorgeous, delicate sounding language. She said something that made Edward laugh his poised, charming chuckle and then smiled at him sweetly as she reached over the counter to give him our room keys.

Edward tucked the room keys into his pocket and then gently placed his hand against my lower back, turning me around with him.

"Come, beautiful." He said softly as he guided me in the direction of the elevators.

"Where is our luggage?" I asked, noticing that the man who'd had it hadn't been waiting with us like I'd assumed.

"It was already taken up to the room while we were checking in."

"Oh."

As we rode up the elevator to the very top floor, I found myself starting to get nervous. Not only had I not even been alone with Edward for weeks leading up to the wedding itself, but this was also the first time that I would be alone with him as his wife. This would be the first time we'd be spending time alone while bound by our contract. I wondered if interaction between us would be different now. Would he look at me differently? Would he expect me to treat him differently?

As I thought about the factors that would be different between us now, my mind turned to sex. As stated in our contract, Edward could technically demand sex from me right then and there if he wanted. The thought did seem a little surreal, and I wondered if I was crazy for agreeing to that. However, at the same time, it wasn't as if I hadn't thought this through. I was prepared for the prospect. All along I'd been comforted by the thought that Edward didn't seem the type of man who would demand sex from me in an absurd manor, place, or time. Then again, how well did I really know Edward? Maybe I was just comforting myself with wishful thinking.

Either way, there was no turning back now. I'd signed away any virtue that I'd had left, right on the dotted line.

The elevator stopped, and with a ding, the doors slid open. We stepped out and into a tiny little lobby looking type area. Straight ahead, the man who had taken our luggage was emerging from a door that appeared to be the main door to our suite. Edward greeted him in Italian and they shared a brief exchange of words before Edward then discreetly slipped him some amount of Italian currency. The man then passed by us, rolling the now empty luggage cart with him back to the elevator.

"After you, my bride." Edward said, gesturing to the door to the suite.

He took out one of the room keys and swiped it in the designated spot next to the door, allowing me to open it.

I gasped as I stepped inside.

The suite was breathtakingly beautiful. It was exquisite, clearly top of the line. I moved in through the little entry way and immediately began exploring, walking around to take everything in. The suite was the size of a penthouse apartment, not the run of the mill hotel room that I was accustomed to staying in. It had a full sized kitchen, a lovely living area, an immaculate bathroom, and the bedroom…there were no words.

"Holy shit…" I mumbled, amazed.

Somehow, even though the suite was lavish and high-class, it didn't so much make me feel uncomfortable or out of place. It surprisingly still somehow had a homey feeling to it. Although I was still pretty edgy, the atmosphere actually made me feel a little bit more at ease than I had in the elevator. It was warm, and it made me feel good.

"Do you like it?" Edward asked, following me as I made my way around the heavenly suite.

"It's amazing. It's perfect." I said, stopping and standing still in the bedroom.

"Good." He said softly, giving me a small smile.

"It doesn't feel as…ostentatious as I expected."

"I thought that you would like it. I'm glad to see I was right."

"You've stayed here before?" I asked.

"No. But I was able to see some photos on the internet. This seemed a little more fitting to your tastes than some of the other options I considered. It's more casual, yet still refined and elegant."

"You know me better than I thought, then."

"Our luggage is all here." He said, gesturing to our bags sitting in the corner of the room. "If you wanted to change clothes or freshen up."

"Yes, please…" I said, eagerly going to dig into my suitcase. "A shower sounds amazing right about now."

"Still starving?" He asked, slipping off his shoes and neatly putting them up against the wall.

"_Yes_. I think I can feel my stomach eating away at itself."

He laughed lightly, going to retrieve the room service menu from the desk.

"Would you like me to order something while you shower?"

"That sounds amazing, thank you."

"What would you like?"

"Anything edible. Preferably nothing fancy. Just get me the simplest thing they have on the menu."

"A hamburger?" He asked, looking up at me.

"Perfect." I smiled as I pulled my toiletry bag out of my suitcase.

"I had them put some champagne on ice in the kitchen. Would you like anything else to drink?"

"Champagne is fine." I said over my shoulder as I carried my toiletries with me to the bathroom. "I won't be long." I added.

I really didn't mean to be long in the bathroom. I had every intention of showering quickly and being out before my food arrived to the room.

However, it didn't really work out that way.

I think that maybe subconsciously I was afraid to leave that bathroom. I think I was simply afraid of the unknown. I didn't know what was in store for me; what this marriage would really be like. I was nervous about where things would go from there, and I guess hiding in the bathroom helped me to avoid my fears as long as possible.

So, as I hid, I groomed myself in pretty much every way you could imagine. I unnecessarily shaved my legs, although skipping my already waxed girly bits. I meticulously scrubbed every inch of my body. I shampooed and conditioned my hair, and then used the blow dryer to dry and fluff it once getting out of the shower. I washed my face, put on deodorant, and I brushed my teeth…twice.

I wasn't sure what to expect as far as Edward wanting to have sex that night, but I did want to be prepared in the event that he did. Although it was an unconventional situation, I still had enough self-worth to want to look my best if he may see me naked for the first time. I knew I would be less nervous if I was confident in my appearance.

I even put on some makeup, deciding that our wedding night was not an opportune time to let Edward see me bare faced. I didn't want him to regret this, after all.

After completing all of that, I started to get antsy. I still wasn't ready to go out and meet my fate. So I looked around the bathroom, trying to think of more things to do to occupy myself.

I began a whole new round of compulsive and unnecessary rituals.

I tweezed my already maintained eyebrows, filed my already manicured nails, straitened my hair that had already been smoothed down by the blow dryer, and applied lotion to my whole body which was still pruny from standing under the hot water for so long.

And then I brushed my teeth…again.

The problem was that I was already fairly sufficiently groomed from the wedding. My nails and eyebrows and everything else had been done literally two days earlier. There wasn't much to even do in the first place. It was all rather redundant.

Sighing with the acceptance that my appearance was as good as it was going to get, I shoved everything back into my cosmetic bag. I then took a step back and turned to look at the reflection of my naked body in the full length mirror that was attached the backside of the bathroom door. I turned slightly from side to side, wanting to see what Edward would see if he indeed did decide that he wanted to have sex that night. I moved my eyes up and down as I observed myself from bottom to top.

I looked over my legs first. They were small, a tiny bit toned, but not muscular by any means. My eyes traveled up further where my thighs turned into my hips, not too wide yet still providing just the right amount of curves to give me a fairly feminine figure. Between my hips rested possibly my favorite feature on myself. And no, I do not mean my love tunnel. I mean my abdomen. I'd been blessed to have a naturally flat and even a little bit toned stomach. I wasn't rocking a six pack, but I definitely wasn't flabby at all. I knew some girls that were just as thin as me if not thinner and still had a bit of roundness to their stomachs. I knew everyone had different body shapes, and I was thankful for that aspect of mine.

My breasts were nothing special, but they suited me just fine. They were small, but not creepy small to where they made my figure look like a little boy. I could still fill out a real bra, not a training bra, and that was enough for me. I was just glad that they were perky and that I wasn't plagued with salami nipples. I was at a club once with Alice and I witnessed a nip-slip that I would never forget. This chick had the biggest nipples I'd ever seen. She was a fucking nippolotamus. Ever since then, I was perfectly content with my breasts.

As I stood there and looked at myself naked, I realized that I'd forgotten to bring clothes with me into the bathroom.

"Shit…" I mumbled to myself.

At home, I never got dressed right out of the shower. So I hadn't even thought about taking clothes with me to the bathroom. I really still didn't like the thought of putting clothes on. The bathroom was hot from the steamy shower combined with the fact that I'd had both the flat iron and the blow dryer on.

I sighed and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around myself and tucking it in to itself under my arms. I took one last glance at myself in the mirror, flipped my hair over my shoulder, and decided it was time to finally leave the bathroom. I had no idea how long I'd been in there, but I knew it had already gone beyond excessive.

I exited the bathroom back into the bedroom, where I found Edward. He was sitting at the desk, illuminated by the light of the lamp next to him. He had an empty plate and a half full champagne glass at his side. In front of him, he was writing purposefully on something. He seemed rather absorbed in it and didn't seem to even notice my reappearance.

"Hi…" I said softly.

"Hey." He said, glancing up at me just briefly before he looked back down at whatever he was doing. He quickly did a bit of a double take though, looking back up at me with a taken aback look. "Are you planning on…going somewhere?" He asked.

"No. Why?"

"Well I know you were in there forever and a year, but I wasn't expecting you to come out with your hair and makeup all done."

"Yeah…" I said, suddenly a little embarrassed that I'd clearly put so much effort into getting all done up for nothing. "Sorry that took so long." I added, shifting my weight awkwardly.

"No worries. I put your food in the microwave to try to conserve some of its heat."

"Oh, thanks."

"You're welcome. I should warn you that it's definitely not gourmet food. I was a little disappointed given the quality of the hotel."

"I think I'll manage."

"I suppose it will be enough to hold us over until morning. We'll go out for a nice breakfast."

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously, trying to get a look at what he'd been writing on.

He followed my eyes to the desk in front of him and abruptly reached out to close what appeared to be a black leather-bound notebook type thing.

"Nothing." He said, smiling up at me. "Just keeping myself occupied until my lovely bride decided to show herself again."

"Yeah, again, sorry it took so long…"

He stood and carried the leather notebook over to his suitcase, tucking it away.

"I'm going to go grab a shower myself." He said, turning back towards me. "I promise not to take a long as you. Although, I don't think I could even if I tried." He added with a smirk.

"Will you just shut up about it already?" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"I'm just messing with you." He laughed.

Edward went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and I heard the water start almost immediately. I considered going to his suitcase to see what that book was he'd been writing in, but it would be just my luck that he'd suddenly emerge from the bathroom and catch me snooping through his stuff. So, I passed.

Still hot from the muggy bathroom, I decided to just remain in my towel as I went to go eat my food. My burger was pretty cold, so I nuked it in the microwave for a few seconds before devouring it down unceremoniously. I was glad I was alone and not in front of Edward, because I'm sure it was very unladylike.

I went back into the bedroom to get some clothes, but before I could even get to my suitcase my attention was captivated by the two beautiful double glass doors leading out to the balcony. I couldn't resist getting a peak at the view right away, so I passed up my suitcase and headed straight for outside.

Just as I'd expected, the view was phenomenal. Although our hotel was far from a skyscraper, there were no such buildings as far as I could see, it was still one of the tallest around. My position gave me a breathtaking point of view, looking down over what seemed like the entire city. As far as I could see, there were gorgeous buildings and spectacular scenery. I smiled as I rested my elbows against the wrought iron railing and leaned over, trying to take in everything. I tried to memorize everything within sight, never wanting to forget that image.

Being so high up and able to see fairly far, I could see where as I looked further and further off into the distance the streets gradually turned into waterways. I'd always heard that there were no streets in Venice, but there were roads in our immediate area. Only further out did it appear to be mostly water.

I heard the doors creak open behind me. I knew that it would be Edward and I didn't even bother turning around to confirm it. I was too absorbed in the beauty of the scene before me, looking more like a picture than something I was actually seeing right in front of my eyes.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Edward muttered as he moved up behind me, bringing his hands to rest on my hips in front of him.

I felt my body stiffen just slightly, suddenly very aware that I was totally naked other than the small white towel loosely wrapped around my middle. The towel barely came up over my breasts and ended right where my ass met my thighs. I tried to brush off any apprehensive feelings, seeing as I wasn't in any place to tell Edward not to touch me anyway.

"I thought there were supposed to be no streets in Italy?" I asked as his arms encircled my waist.

I had no idea what kind of clothing if any that Edward had on since he was behind me and I hadn't turned around, but I was fairly certain I could at least feel that his upper body was bare.

"Generally the only way to travel around the city is through the waterways of the lagoon, but we're still very much on the mainland. We're more in the Cavallino area. There are roads here just like any other city. We'll venture further out tomorrow through the waterways."

"Oh."

He left one arm around my waist but lifted the other to move my hair off of my neck, pushing it all over one shoulder. His lips found the now exposed side of my neck, showering it with slow and hot open-mouthed kisses. My eyes fluttered closed and I instinctually stretched my neck out to make more room for his lips.

"Your skin tastes like honey." He muttered thickly against my neck.

"Mm…" I hummed.

"Tell me, Isabella. Is this why you came out of the bathroom after your shower looking all sexy and done up? Did you want to look good for me?"

I swallowed again. I wasn't sure what kind of answer he was looking for, so I decided just to be honest.

"I…I didn't know if you'd want to…"

"Want to what?" He said softly, still placing searing kisses on the skin of my neck.

"Want to…" My words trailed off in a content sigh at the feeling of his hot tongue against my burning skin.

"Want to fuck you tonight?"

"Yes." I breathed.

He chuckled softly against my skin and then lifted his head a little to speak directly into my ear.

"Is that so, Isabella? I'd have figured you to have my intentions for tonight figured out by now. He slid the hand of the arm that wasn't holding me down the side of my body to gently caress my thigh. "You thought that I wouldn't want to claim you tonight? You thought I wouldn't want to pounce on you the moment that you became officially mine?"

The possessive way in which he spoke was somehow unsettling and yet erotic at the same time.

"I…I wasn't sure." I said softly, incredibly attuned to the feeling of his fingertips on my skin.

It was very clear now that Edward did indeed intent to have sex with me that night, and I found myself feeling uncharacteristically nervous. I think it was because I'd never even imagined myself in this type of situation before, and I wasn't entirely sure how to conduct myself. It was no secret that the sexual tension between Edward and I had been building over the last few months and I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't been yearning to finally find some release of the build up between us. Furthermore, I had been dying of curiosity to see what he was like in bed. If the chemistry that we had in the bedroom was going to be anything like the chemistry we shared in our every day banter, it was unrealistic of me to act like it was going to be unpleasant.

"Are you kidding?" He asked as his hand slid up from my thigh underneath my towel to caress my bare ass. "You've been taunting me incessantly for months with this sweet little ass of yours. Quite the cocktease you've been, Isabella…"

My mouth fell open slightly at the feeling of his hand on my bare ass. The fact that he was touching me more intimately than he'd ever had before during one of our intense make out sessions sent a wave of tingles down my spine.

"Don't pretend that you've been so innocent yourself in the teasing department." I sighed, pushing my ass back against his hand just a little just to see what kind of reaction I got from him.

He laughed softly and squeezed my ass cheek with his large hand.

"Guess what, my little cocktease?" He asked, breathe hot in my ear.

"What?"

"My cock is ready to cash in." He said throatily, stepping closer against my body so that I could feel his _very_ evident erection against my lower back.

_Oh, shit…this is really happening. Like, now._

Now that he'd pressed himself against me, I could feel that at least his groin was covered. It felt like he was wearing boxer briefs, but nothing else.

The way my towel had been positioned, the seam where both sides met was at my back. I jumped a little in surprise when Edward grabbed both ends and pulled them down to open the towel, exposing my whole backside. Even though the air wasn't cold, the sudden sensation of it abruptly hitting my skin made me shiver. The towel fell but I caught it just in time to clutch it up against my chest, covering my front. I knew that we had the top floor of the tallest building around all to ourselves, but I still had the instinctual misgivings of being outside in the open like this.

I felt him take a step back, no longer feeling his body pressed against mine.

"Mm, your ass looks even better naked than it does in jeans." He said with a groan.

I started to move to turn around to look at him, but then his hands were on my hips, holding me still.

"Don't move." He said softly. "Stay just like that."

He pulled back gently on my hips until I took a step back. My elbows remained against the railing so that I was now more in a bent over position than standing and simply leaning on the rail. Some of my hair was starting to get in my face, so I tossed my head to the side so that my hair fell down over the opposite shoulder instead.

"Fucking perfection…" He muttered quietly, releasing my hips. "Don't move an inch."

A few long moments of complete silence passed. He wasn't touching me anymore and it was rather maddening to just stand there completely naked, bent over the railing, and wait anxiously for his next move. I wanted to turn around and look at him, but it was clear that he wanted me to stay still.

Finally, I felt contact. It wasn't the contact I'd been expecting, but it was something.

His lips were at the back of my knee, kissing the sensitive flesh there ever so softly. It was nothing like the hot, searing kisses he'd been lavishing my neck with just a few minutes earlier. These kisses were gentle, tender, warm caresses of his lips. They felt different, but very good.

His lips ascended up my thigh, moving slowly. He seemed to be taking his time, enjoying himself, and it caught me off guard a little bit. I'd expected going into this arrangement that all sexual activities would be focused on his pleasure. He had no obligation to worry about my needs or enjoyment, so it struck me as a little strange for him to be slowly kissing up the backside of my body. It seemed more like something a lover would do.

Once his lips had reached the top of my thigh, they continued on in their journey to move up over the swell of my rear end. It was a different feeling. I'd never had someone literally kiss my ass before, and the feeling was definitely not an unpleasant one.

I made a mental note to tease Edward sometime about having kissed my ass on his own free will.

As his lips continued on to my lower back, both of his hands settled firmly on my ass cheeks. He gave them a gentle squeeze as he kissed a slow trail up my spine, making me shiver. His slow pace and gentle kisses were tantalizing. It was as if each time that his lips touched my skin, they were awakening the nerve endings there. I was buzzing with anticipation, and the factor of not being able to actually see Edward just drove me crazier.

I was aware of my now shallow breathing and quickening heart beat. As his lips moved higher and higher up my back his hands moved with them, right along the same trail. He didn't stop until he was right back where he started in the first place, lips at my ear.

"Let's see if you're wet for me, shall we?" He said, walking his fingers down my side.

If I hadn't already been wet from all of the invigorating kisses up my body, I definitely would have been now.

His hand moved down my side and across my lower back to my ass, giving it another squeeze, and then slid ever so slowly down to the place between my legs. He stilled his hand before he actually touched my folds, but I could feel it _right there_.

"Bend over for me just a little bit more, sweet girl." He said softly into my ear.

I swallowed thickly and complied, taking another step back so that I was bent over more.

"There you go." He encouraged quietly, a smile in his voice.

His fingers then came into gentle contact with my sex, stroking me with soft and explorative motions. I whimpered a little at the contact, intuitively opening my legs a little further apart.

"Mm…" I hummed as one fingertip dipped just barely between my folds.

"You're wet for me, Isabella." He stated huskily, as if I didn't know.

"What'd you expect?" I breathed. "We've been dry humping each other incessantly for the last three months."

He pushed his finger into me and I hummed at the friction.

"Mm, you're tight." He groaned, wiggling his finger a little bit inside of me.

"I know." I said with a knowing smile, utilizing my adroit Kegel muscles to squeeze his finger.

"Always such a little spitfire, aren't you?" He asked, his words sharp but his tone full of amusement.

"No. I just know what I'm working with." I said, squeezing his finger again.

"I'm going to fuck that snarky little attitude right out of you." He said, slowly starting to move his finger in and out of me, expertly hitting all the right spots.

"Oh yeah? I thought you liked my attitude." I countered, fighting off the tiny little moan that wanted to escape me.

"Normally I do. But tonight, I plan to have you begging for my cock, not talking back to me."

"Now where would be the fun in that?" I said in a pouty tone.

He added another finger and I sighed happily.

"The fun will be in fucking you senseless while you beg for more."

"You're awfully sure of yourself, Mr. Cullen." I said, opening my eyes with a little smile that I couldn't help.

"Yes I am. And you're about to find out why, _Mrs. Cullen._"

"Well are you going to get on with it or are you just gonna stand there and finger fuck me all night?"

"Impatient?"

"No. I'm sure it's a great view." I said, arching my back a little so my ass stuck out a little more.

As an added bonus, my actions made his fingers slip further inside of me. He turned those fingers clockwise with a flick of his wrist and curled them up. However, because I was bent over with my back to him, this action didn't have the same result that it normally would. Normally when a guy curled his fingers up inside of a girl it was with the purpose of trying to find her G spot on the top wall of her vagina. However, because of my position, it was as if my vagina was upside down. Instead of pressing up against the top wall, curling his fingers up instead made him press on what would normally be the bottom of my vagina. I'd never had a guy touch me in that particular way before, and it gave me an extreme feeling of fullness that I wasn't expecting.

"_Uh_…" I grunted in surprise, moving to grip the railing in front of me in my hands instead of leaning against it on my forearms.

"Such a tight little pussy…I don't know if you can handle what I've got for you." He said, continuing to thrust into me with his fingers.

"I don't know what you mean." I said sarcastically. "I've been telling you all along that I have a loose and wide set vagina."

"I don't know if it's me or yourself that you're trying to convince that you don't want me with your little sarcastic remarks. If it's me, I'll just tell you right now that it's not working. Need I remind you that my fingers are inside of you right now? I can feel how tight you are, Isabella. And I can feel how much you want me. My entire hand is wet up to my wrist."

I felt a fresh flood of wetness pool between my legs in response to his words. I spread my legs further and Edward moaned softly when he felt the new gush of moisture. If we were going to fuck, I wished that he'd just get on with it already. The last three months had been enough teasing. I didn't need any more.

"Do you want to be fucked, Isabella?"

_My God, Edward does like to talk dirty…_

_My God, Edward is good at talking dirty…_

"Do you really need me to answer that? You were just so confident…"

"Oh, I _am_ confident. I know that you want to be fucked. I just want to hear you say it."

I sighed and looked within myself to weigh my options. Why did everything have to be a game with Edward? But…fuck me, no pun intended, if I wasn't one to take a challenge. If someone wanted to play games with me, it was nearly impossible for me to resist reciprocating. The logical thing to do was to just say it and get on with the sex. But the Bella-ish thing to do was to play right back.

"But maybe I _don't_ want to be fucked. I don't remember anything in our agreement about me having to say whatever you want me to…" I said with feigned thoughtfulness in my tone.

"Yeah? Then why don't you try to explain to me why my hand is dripping wet right now."

"I peed?"

"Mhmm…" He said, laughing heartily behind me.

His fingers slipped out of me and I felt myself frown. What the fuck?

Just as I was about to voice my disapproval, I realized _why_ those fingers had left me. They hadn't really left me at all, he was just moving them. He pulled them from me and then dipped his hand lower so that those same fingers could extend out to gently stroke my clit. The new type of friction was delicious and made my body literally jump with a jolt of sensation.

_Fuuuuck it._

That was all it took to make me see clearly.

Fuck playing games. Fuck teasing. I just wanted to fucking get on with it.

"I want to be fucked." I said abruptly, breathing heavily.

"Mm, good girl." He cooed happily, withdrawing his hand completely.

He sighed and then I heard him shuffling a bit behind me for a moment. He then stepped forward again so that his body was against mine and once again, I could feel his erection against my lower back. This time, however, it was naked and even harder than before.

He moved his erection teasingly across my skin, brushing it against my lower back, ass, and thighs. He then focused on just my thighs and then on simply rubbing the head back and forth over my wet, waiting sex. I kept thinking he was going to put it in only to be disappointed.

"Edward, stop teasing me. I said it. Now just _fuck_ me already."

And with that, he pushed into me.

"Ah! Oh _fuck_…fuck, fuck, fuck!" I screeched.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked, sounding taken aback and genuinely concerned. "Are you okay?"

"No! What the _fuck_? You couldn't at least warn me that you have a fucking _monster cock_?"

He laughed and rubbed my hip in what I guess he intended to be a soothing way.

"I _told_ you that you wouldn't be able to handle me. Haven't you felt it before anyway?"

"Um, yeah, maybe rubbing up against you through our clothes. I gathered that it was big but I didn't know you were packing a fucking horse dick."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No. No, it's okay. It just surprised me, that's all." I sighed, closing my eyes and moving my hips a little experimentally. "I kind of…like the way it stretches me."

"Fuck…" He breathed, both hands resting on my hips. "Say that again."

I smirked, glad that he was finally inside of me so that _I_ had some gain on _him_. All joking aside, I knew that my vagina was kind of tight and that his penis was monstrous. By the laws of physics, it had to feel good to him.

"Mm, Edward," I whimpered. "Your cock is so big. It stretches my tight little pussy so good…"

"Hell yes." He said, moving about half way out and slowly thrusting back in.

I gasped a little bit. The girth of him made it virtually impossible that he wouldn't be pushing against my G spot as he pushed back in. I was trying not to take this too seriously, but I'd been so wet and he was hitting just the right spot. I wasn't sure that I'd even wanted to have an orgasm, not sure if I'd feel awkward being so vulnerable in front of Edward, but at this rate…it might be inevitable.

I dropped the towel that I'd somehow still been managing to hold up against my front side and it pooled at my feet.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about fucking you for months…" he breathed as he gripped my hips tighter, starting to steadily thrust gently in and out of me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip, for some reason now all of the sudden feeling the need to suppress the moans and whimpers that he was eliciting from me. I didn't understand why my mood had abruptly shifted, but all of the sudden I felt almost…_too_ naked. I'd been so focused on coming to terms that as part of our agreement, Edward would get to have me sexually, for his pleasure, whenever he wanted. I hadn't taken into account the vulnerable position that it would force me into. I felt betrayed by my body that it was deriving so much pleasure from something that I should have had a difficult time with.

Up to that point, everything had been easy-going. We'd been joking around with each other, engaging in our usual banter. Things had been light and relaxed, both of us full of anticipation of the mystery of the evening. Sure we'd been flirting, and Edward had been exploring my body a bit, but nothing felt particularly intense. But now, all of the sudden, I was experiencing very _real_ feelings of pleasure and intensity. I hadn't taken into consideration what my own reaction to the sex would be and as I stood there naked being fucked by Edward, I felt very exposed.

I think maybe part of me felt guilty for finding pleasure in what he was doing to me. It felt like something that I should feel like a whore for doing, something only _he_ should be enjoying so much.

"Does that feel good?" Edward asked as he moved a little faster, still sliding back and forth easily through my wetness and rubbing right over my G spot as he did so.

"Mm…" I hummed, a purposefully vague response.

I hadn't realized just how worked up he really had gotten me before he entered me. I knew that the trail of sensual kisses all over my skin had gotten me wet, and I knew the fingering felt good, but I wasn't prepared to be this close to reaching an orgasm so quickly. I think part of it may have been the forbidden factor of it. By this point I had been actively trying to ward off a climax on my part, but the fact that I was denying that of myself only made my body relish in the pleasure that it was deriving from Edward that much more.

As his thrusts became faster, harder, and impossibly deeper, all I wanted to do was cry out. I wanted to moan, scream, and call out his name. I wanted to allow myself to let go of all the whimpers, groans, and grunts that my body was aching to expel. But for some reason, something in me felt the intense need to suppress them. I kept my lips mashed together and remained completely silent. The only thing that I couldn't seem to control was my shallow and ragged breathing.

"Why so quiet all of the sudden?" Edward asked a little breathlessly. "Where's that attitude?"

His hands were still firmly planted on my hips and his thrusts remained strong and steady. A tiny whimper escaped my lips in some sort of response to his question, but I made no other attempt to answer him.

We carried on like this for quite some time. Edward pounded away at me with an ever increasing fervor while I remained still and quite, trying to keep my composure and yet more and more being betrayed by my own body.

I wished that I could see Edward. The only indication I had of what was going on with him was what I could feel of him inside of me and the sounds of his soft grunts and ragged breathing. His breathing became more unsteady and shallower every minute. That, combined with the increasing speed and sharpness of his thrusts, was enough for me to assume he was enjoying himself.

Although I was able to remain quiet, it quickly became apparent to me that I was going to orgasm.

So, I took a deep breath, and I let go, allowing the inevitable waves of pleasure to surge through me like fire. I could feel myself clamping down on Edward. I was sure that he could feel it. And yet, I still felt compelled to remain quiet. Surprisingly, that wasn't as hard as I'd feared. I simply held my breath through my climax, and then staying quiet wasn't so hard. However, although I wasn't vocal, my body definitely reacted. My muscles convulsed, my legs shook, and my back arched hard.

"Oh fuck…yes…you're coming…so tight squeezing me…"

_Yeah, safe to say Edward felt it…_

My orgasm was long, wave after wave of white hot pleasure rolling through my body. My back arched harder and I surrendered, rocking my body just slightly in sync with the waves of my climax.

I felt hot spurts inside of my signaling Edward's release and I felt relieved, glad that we would be done at the same time and I wouldn't have to stand there awkwardly and let him pound into me until he finished. He continued to thrust into my slowly as he rode out the waves of his pleasure and I stood there panting as I came down from mine.

I'm not sure how long we stood there connected after we were finished, but it felt like a long time to me. I could feel Edward start to soften inside of me as our breathing slowly started to return to a more normal, slower rate. I kept my eyes closed, not opening them until I felt Edward gently pull himself from within me. My chest was still heaving with my deep breaths as I looked down over the city, my whole body tingling.

I felt Edward lips on the back of my neck, placing a hot, wet kiss there.

"Mm…" He hummed, hands slipping around me from my hips to softly caress my stomach. "This arrangement is going to work out _very_ well."

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**A/N:**

**I'm dying to know, were the extra panties needed?**

**It's needless to say that this chapter skipped ahead a few months from where we left off. This will start happening more often now as they story progresses. The story is meant to cover a number of years, so the skips will be necessary. **

**Also, please refrain from PMing me/whatnot to ask if the story will be finished. I understand that updates don't come as frequently as they once did, but the answer is yes! So you don't need to ask :) I love hearing from yall and getting your feedback about the story, but I get the question a lot and I can give you the answer right now :) I love this story, there is no way I'm abandoning it, even if it has to be a little lower on my list of priorities these days. **

**A huge thank you to my beta, GinaJas. If you're reading this, I guess my added ending got a little bit longer than expected, haha! Thank you for all your help!**

**I want to hear your theories on Rosalie and Edward's little black book!**

**Jenn**

**P.S. I'll be writing two oneshots for the Countdown to 2012 by Breath-of-Twilight! I'll give you all more information in my next post!**


	13. Mrs Cullen Part 2

**A/N: I do not own character names. Plot is mine. Sexy dirty talking snobward is mine. But I'll let you borrow him while you read :)**

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_**Previously…**_

_I'm not sure how long we stood there connected after we were finished, but it felt like a long time to me. I could feel Edward start to soften inside of me as our breathing slowly started to return to a more normal, slower rate. I kept my eyes closed, not opening them until I felt Edward gently pull himself from within me. My chest was still heaving with my deep breaths as I looked down over the city, my whole body tingling._

_I felt Edward lips on the back of my neck, placing a hot, wet kiss there._

_"Mm…" He hummed, hands slipping around me from my hips to softly caress my stomach. "This arrangement is going to work out __very__ well."_

.

.

.

.

I bent at my knees to reach down and pick up my towel, swiftly straightening back up as I wrapped it around myself. I turned around to face Edward for the first time since he'd come outside, no pun intended. His green eyes sparkled, his hair still slightly damp from his shower. Glancing down, I could see his grey boxer briefs discarded at the floor by his feet.

"Excuse me." I said softly, moving around him to get back inside.

Gravity was taking effect quickly and I wanted to get to the bathroom before the evidence of his orgasm was spread all over the insides of my thighs.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and dropped my towel as I moved as quickly as I could to the toilet. I peed and then used my Kegel muscles to clench and unclench repeatedly; trying to get as much out as I could of what Edward had left in me. I wasn't concerned about it for fear of getting pregnant, I took my pill _religiously_ every single day, it was just uncomfortable and awkward feeling to be leaking jizz for the next few hours after sex.

When I was done I wiped myself thoroughly and then stood up and washed my hands. I did a quick look over myself in the mirror, wiping some smudged makeup from my eyes and combing through my hair a bit with my fingers, and then I went back out to the bedroom. I went straight to my suitcase, now eager to put some clothes on. Figuring that I would be sleeping in whatever I put on, I threw on some unsexy underwear with grey sweatpants and a big T shirt. I opted out of a bra since I hated sleeping in one.

I plopped myself down on the big, fluffy bed and reached for the remote. To my delight, the T.V. had on demand section devoted to strictly movies in English. The selection wasn't great, but it was better than watching something in Italian. I put on _Friend Green Tomatoes_ and made myself comfortable against the fluffy pillows to watch.

Just a few minutes in Edward appeared in the bedroom, now with his boxers back on, on his way to the bathroom. He emerged after just a couple minutes and left the room again. When he came back, he had the bottle of champagne from the kitchen and two empty glasses. He came and sat down on the free side of the bed.

"You want a glass of champagne?" He asked as he pulled the cork out.

"Yeah, sure, thanks."

He poured me a glass and handed it over to me before pouring one for himself. I took a generous sip as I watched him place the bottle on the bedside table next to him.

"What are you watching?" He asked.

"Fried Green Tomatoes." I answered, turning back to the television.

"Never heard of it."

"Really? It's pretty good. I kind of have a soft spot for it. I watched it for the first time with my Grandma, so it reminds me of her."

"Are you close to her?"

"I was. She died when I was seventeen."

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"It's okay." I said, taking a sip of champagne. "She lived a really long and happy life. I can't be sad about that."

"That's a very refreshing way to view death."

"I guess." I said with a shrug.

We sat there for a few minutes in silence, watching the movie. I sipped on my champagne until my glass was empty and then sat it down on the little table next to me.

"Is something bothering you?" Edward asked after a while.

"No, why?"

"It's just…when we were outside…I don't know, I got the impression that something was bothering you."

"What made you think that?"

"Well, everything started out pretty hot. I thought I had you sufficiently worked up, God knows you were wet enough. You told me that you wanted me to fuck you and then, well…everything went downhill from there."

"Downhill?" I asked, turning my head to raise my eyebrows at him.

"Well, yeah."

"What is that supposed to mean? You blew your load. What do you have to complain about?"

"Well obviously it's not that _I_ didn't enjoy myself. It just seemed like _you_ didn't enjoy yourself."

"I had an orgasm. I thought you could tell."

"I know you did. That's not what I meant. I meant it seemed like the mood shifted. Our foreplay was hot and I could tell you wanted me. The sexual tension was buzzing and then once I got inside of you…it just seemed like everything from then on was…unsexy."

I bolted up to sit up straight, staring down at him.

"Unsexy?"

"Yeah, unsexy. Everything just kind of fizzled out."

"You seriously just called me unsexy?"

"I didn't call you unsexy. I said that the second half of our sex was unsexy."

"Sex with me is never _unsexy_. I'm the sexiest person you know."

"Why are you getting so defensive? I'm not trying to attack you. I jus –"

"Take your boxers off." I said, pulling my T shirt up over my head.

"Wait, what?"

"Take your boxers off. I'm sexy. And I'm about to prove it."

I got off the bed and stood up so I could pull off my sweatpants and panties. It was game time.

"I wasn't calling you unsexy. I said our _sex_ was unsexy."

"Yeah, well, I took that as a personal challenge."

"Are you serious?" He asked, eyes moving up and down over my naked form.

"Very."

"I think you're overacting."

"No I'm not." I said, getting back onto the bed on my knees. "I'd like to see you _try_ to call sex with me unsexy after I'm done with you."

Of course he hadn't obeyed me when I told him to take off his boxers, so I took it upon myself to move my hands to his hips and begin tugging them down myself. He at least had the decency to lift his ass off the bed so I could get them off. I pulled them past his feet and tossed them on the floor, eyes immediately darting to the object of my determination, Edward's penis.

He wasn't hard yet, so that was my first objective. I moved so I was straddling him but didn't actually sit on him, just hovered above him, supporting my weight with my hands planted on the bed next to his shoulders. I leaned forward so I could plant warm, wet kisses along his neck. Much like he'd done to me outside.

"You don't have to –"

"Shut up." I mumbled, continuing.

I felt like a fire had been ignited in me. All the worries that I'd had outside were put on hold for the moment. I hadn't realized that Edward had thought that sex with me was disappointing. I guess it was somewhat understandable that he had picked up on my mood, but I was _not_ going to let him have that impression for long. I was good at sex, and he was going to know it.

I kissed his neck slowly, dragging my tongue across his skin and caressing it slowly with my lips. I nipped playfully at his earlobe and then kissed a lingering trail of kisses down his neck to the hollow of his throat, right below his Adams apple. I kissed him there slowly with tongue until I heard him let out a relaxed, soft sigh. I knew how to get a man going. My efforts were rewarded when his little, or should I say monstrous, soldier slowly began stiffening and rising until it was standing up straight and poking against my stomach.

"Mm, someone is happy to see me…" I said in my best sultry tone.

I ran my hand from his chest down his sculpted abs to firmly wrap my hand around his manhood. I tugged on him with two slow, firm strokes. He let out a soft, barely audible moan.

"Do you want to feel my tight pussy wrapped around this thick, hard cock again?" I asked in a husky breath against his neck.

"Yeah" He said breathlessly, moving his hands to rest on my thighs.

I shifted to sit up straight, settling myself down on Edward's thighs. His eyes were closed but he opened them when I gave him another firm stroke.

"I think…I want to ride you." I said as I stroked him one more time.

"You can do whatever you want to me."

"Mm, yes…that's exactly what I want." I said, letting go of his shaft and rubbing both of my hands up his chiseled abdomen. "I want to ride this hard, sexy body."

"Well I'm certainly not going to deny you that." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, Edward…look how hard you are for me…" I drawled, keeping up my sultry porn-star-ish tone.

"Well what comes up has to come down, you know."

"Oh yeah?" I answered, raising my eyebrows at him.

"At least, before it gets painful…"

He pulled up on my thighs, urging me to get back up on my knees, so I complied. I moved so I was hovering right over his erection and took it in my hand to rub the head through my folds slowly, teasing him. He let out a frustrated sigh and moved his hips upwards, trying to push into me.

"Eager?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Very." He responded.

I smiled as I finally sunk down onto him, slowly taking in one inch at a time. He moaned, and so did I. Mine really was a natural moan, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't amp it up to make it a little louder and more dramatic. I squeezed my muscles as I took him in, wanting to make myself as tight as I could for his sake. He groaned, making me smile wider.

Now that Edward was revved up and inside of me, it was on. I was a girl on a mission.

Mission: make Edward blow his load as quickly as possible.

I moaned loudly, but not _too_ over the top, as I moved my hands from the bed to my hips and slowly moved them up my torso. I threw my head back, letting my hair cascade down my back as I arched it so that my breasts jutted out. I moved my hands up my stomach to cup my breasts and gently pinched my nipples as I moaned again.

Edward twitched inside of me.

"Do you like that?" I asked, tugging on my nipples. "Do you like watching me touch my breasts?"

He swallowed thickly, eyes glued to what my hands were doing.

"Yes…pinch your nipples again for me." He said as he rocked his hips up into mine.

I obliged his request and pinched my nipples again, purposefully whimpering as I did so. I took his action as a need for friction and slowly began rolling my hips on him. He moaned and continued to lift his hips to meet mine repeatedly.

"Oh, Edward, you make my pussy feel so good." I moaned loudly.

I cocked my head to the side sharply to flip my hair to one side, totally working my sexy. I arched my back in a steady rhythm that matched the movements of my hips. The burning gaze of Edward's eyes jumped all over my body, from my hips to my stomach to my breasts to my face. He didn't seem to know where to look, and his enthusiasm made me giddy. I knew he was eating up everything I was dishing it out, and it felt damn good.

That man would _never_ question my sexiness again.

"Yes, ride me. Ride me just like that." Edward said throatily as he moved his legs so that his feet were flat against the bed and his knees were up.

The slight shift in his legs made it so that he went impossibly deeper into me, making me whimper genuinely. I guess because of the leverage he gained by having his feet flat against the mattress, he was able to move his hips up harder against mine. It added pressure for me and must have done something for him too because he let out a long moan.

I moved my hands from my breasts to rest with my palms flat against his abdomen, helping me to steady myself. I made the motions of my hips on him bigger so that I was moving up and down on him just a little bit more versus simply rocking back and forth. He slid his hands up from my thighs to my hips and his breathing became increasingly labored.

"Ride you like this?" I asked.

"I take that back." He smiled. "Ride me harder."

_Oh really?_

I sat up all the way on my knees, making him slip out of me. But I didn't leave him unattended for long. I moved my knees further apart and then grabbed him at the base of his shaft and realigned him at my entrance. I squeezed my inner muscles as tightly as I could and lowered myself back down onto him. Before he could even finishing moaning, I lifted myself right back up until it was just his head left in me and then sunk right back down. I used every bit of strength I had in my thighs to repeat this move over and over again, fast, all the while keeping my Kegel muscles squeezed as tightly as I could. My hands against his abdomen helped me keep a steady balance as I lowered myself on him over and over again, faster and faster.

"Ride you like this?" I asked again.

He moaned loudly, his fingers digging into my hips, eyes squeezing shut.

"_Fuck_…"

"Yeah?" I asked, moving faster.

"_Fuuuuckkk…"_

"Do I feel good, Edward? Tell me how good I feel."

"So good…so fucking good."

"Am I sexy?"

"Fuck yes."

I smiled.

"Say it. Tell me I'm sexy, Edward."

"You're sexy…you're so fucking sexy…oh God…"

_Well okay then. Now it's time to bring it home._

"Open your eyes, Edward." I breathed. "Watch me ride your big, hard cock."

He opened his eyes and they landed on my face, unfocused.

Smiling, I took one hand off of his stomach and moved it behind myself. I had to arch my back to reach for what I was looking for and it kind of made my shoulder cramp up, but I knew that it was going to be worth it. It was a little difficult to do while continuing to ride the shit out of him, but I managed to get a hold of his balls, gently cupping his sac in my hand. I rolled them slowly in my palm, biting my lip seductively as I looked down at him.

His eyes widened a little in surprise before they went glassy and he let out a deep grunt.

"I'm gonna come…" He said breathlessly, almost so soft I couldn't hear him.

"Yes…come for me…let me have it…"

He shook his head slightly and his eyes tightened like he wanted to close them, but he didn't. His balls tightened in my hand and his chest began heaving with his shallow breathing. The look in his eyes made him appear far more vulnerable than I'd ever seen him before. It made me feel a little better about what I'd been feeling outside.

"I didn't want to finish so fast…" He said, voice strained.

"Do it. Please." I said, trying to remain sultry in my tone. "I don't want to wait any longer to feel your hot come fill me up again."

His jaw went slack, his mouth falling open slightly, and he took a sharp breath. His abs tightened under the one hand that I still had on them and he grunted softly. A moment later, I felt the first hot spurt of his release inside of me.

I stilled myself on him as he climaxed. He let his eyes flutter closed and swallowed repeatedly, breathing heavily through his pleasure. I remained still and quiet until he was finished, trying to suppress my smug smile.

I didn't even think about the fact that I didn't have an orgasm until after it was over. I didn't care though. That wasn't my intention or my goal. The only purpose I had in jumping and riding him was to prove to him that I was sexy and I was good at sex. He had obviously gotten the wrong impression of me outside, and I was definitely not going to let the night end with him thinking that of me.

"Still want to call me not sexy?" I asked with a smirk once I knew he was done.

"I did _not_ say that you're not sexy. But if that's the reaction I get, I'll tell you that you're not sexy every single day." He said breathlessly.

"I am _good_ at sex. We needed to clear that up."

"Consider it cleared." He said, opening his still hazy eyes to look up at me. "But you didn't come." He added with a frown.

"No, I didn't. I guess you were just a little too unsexy for me." I said with a nonchalant shrug as I climbed off of him.

"How did you not come?" He asked, sitting up. "That was…incredible."

"I guess incredible isn't good enough for me. I guess I only orgasm for nothing less than _mind-blowing_." I answered as I stood up off the bed.

"So what happened outside was mind-blowing?" He asked with a smirk.

"Not for you, apparently…" I mumbled as I grabbed my clothes off the floor and turned and walked away towards the bathroom.

In the bathroom, I repeated the same routine that I'd done earlier. I peed and I tried to clean myself up as best as I could. When I was finished I brushed my hair and then redressed myself in the clothes that I'd already put on for bed earlier before feeling the need to jump Edward and prove myself.

I jumped a little bit in surprise when I opened the bathroom door and Edward was standing there right in front of me, bare ass naked and waiting with a clean pair of black boxer briefs in his hand. I shuffled past him awkwardly and moved back into the bedroom as he entered the bathroom and softly close the door behind him.

I went back over to the bed and plopped back down on it, grabbing my empty champagne glass as I did. Then I reached over to the other side of the bed to get the bottle and filled my glass. I drained it right away in one gulp, so I went ahead and filled it a second time before putting the bottle back down. I then settled back against the pillows once more, now content just to sip on my bubbly treat, and began watching the last few minutes of _Fried Green Tomatoes_. Edward appeared just as I was starting to get into it. Of course he looked amazing in nothing but his tight black boxers, but I tried not to stare.

He came over to reclaim the side of the bed he'd been occupying earlier. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't turn to look at him until he spoke.

"So do you see what I mean now?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The sex. What you just did to me in here," He said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Where was _that_ when we were outside?"

I turned back to the movie, biting at the inside of my cheek.

"I was bent over on an outside patio being fucked because I'm legally obligated. What did you expect?"

"I expected it to be the way that it started out." He said evenly. "Your personality is so vivacious and…fiery. I don't know why it disappeared just as things were heating up."

I sighed.

"Why do you care so much? It doesn't matter whether I wanted it or not or if I liked it or not or even if I showed it or not. I did what I was obligated to do."

"It does matter." He said softly. "At least, it matters to me."

"Why?" I asked, turning back to him again.

"Because." He sighed. "You seem to have this idea that I don't give a shit about anything as long as I have a hole to fuck. And that's simply just not how it is. I don't want to have sex with you while you just stand there indifferently. I guess some people get off on feeling like their in so much sexual control that they don't have to care about their partner's feelings, but that's really not my cup of tea."

"Why not? It clearly states in our agreement that I'm at your sexual mercy."

"It does not say that."

"It might as well…" I mumbled.

"I think you have a total misconception of my intentions concerning the sexual aspect of our agreement."

"No I don't. I understand perfectly well."

"I don't think you do. I thought you did, but maybe I was wrong."

"Enlighten me then." I sighed, taking a gulp of champagne.

"The idea for this whole agreement was for mutual benefit. I didn't expect anything less for the sexual side of that. I gather that you have the impression that incorporating sex into this was for my gain only, but I never saw it that way."

"You didn't?"

"No. My hope and intention all along was that you and I could be genuine friends while being able to casually enjoy great sex together. I thought you had the personality to be open to and capable of that. Was I wrong?"

The more Edward explained himself, the more stupid I began to feel. He made everything he was saying sound so simple and logical. It made me feel like a dramatic and over-analyzing crybaby.

"No." I said with a small smile. "I like good sex."

"I had an inkling that you might." He said, smiling back.

"Oh, God…" I laughed, turning to put my face into my pillow.

"What?" He asked, also laughing now.

"That's crazy. I was so firm in my feelings and crazy interpretations of what I thought was the basis of our relationship to each other sexually….and you just totally made my mind do a one-eighty in like five seconds…"

"What were your crazy interpretations?"

"I just…I felt like a whore." I mumbled into my billow.

"A whore?"

"Yeah. Like a prostitute. I really was into it at first, but then I started to think that I'm pretty much a prostitute for signing away my body to you. I guess I kind of ruined the moment for me. I actually felt pathetic for having an orgasm. I felt like you should be the only one enjoying it."

He pushed my hair away from my face and slipped a finger under my chin, coaxing my face up from my pillow. I complied and turned my head to look at him.

"Don't ever think of yourself like that again." He said seriously. "Please. I hate that you would feel that way, Isabella. I've never once considered our involvement with each other to be anything like that. You did not sign your body away to me. We each signed our agreement to outline our expectations from one another. You are _not _prostituting yourself to me."

"Well…you did put in our contract that I have to have sex with you whenever you want it."

His eyebrows furrowed together slightly in a thoughtful way.

"I never really meant that _literally_. I included that in the agreement more as a way to try to get you to take me very seriously when I said that I was only interested in this deal if sex was involved. But it really doesn't mean that you can't say no. You must have known that, though. I told you in the beginning that you're obviously free to leave me whenever you want. You're clearly here by your own free will. And besides, I definitely wouldn't ever force myself on you or anything."

"You're right. I never thought about it that way either."

"Just…please don't feel like a whore. Don't degrade yourself like that. I certainly don't look at you in that way. There's no reason that you should either."

"Thanks." I said with a small smile. "I actually feel a lot better. You made a lot of sense. I was being pretty irrational. I don't know what my problem was. I hadn't really felt that way until tonight."

He frowned, suddenly looking troubled.

"I really hate that you were feeling literally like a whore while I was having sex with you. That's upsetting. You should have told me to stop or something. I don't like the thought of having sex with you practically against your will."

"Hey, don't feel too bad." I said, bumping his leg playfully with my own. "I _did_ have an orgasm, after all."

He smiled at me brightly, relaxing.

"I truly do want to be friends, Isabella. It would make our interactions with each other much more enjoyable. Just because we're not in a conventional relationship doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other."

"You're right." I nodded. "I feel a lot better about it."

"Good. Friends, then?"

"Friends." I agreed.

"Excellent. Come give me a kiss then."

I laughed and scooted over closer to him.

"You know, normal friends don't seal their friendship with a kiss." I laughed.

"_Married_ friends do." He smiled.

"Normal friends don't marry each other."

"I think we've already established that you and I are not in a normal situation."

"True." I sighed, leaning in to softly press my lips against his.

He kissed me gently and slowly, nothing deep. After just a few moments I pulled back, smiling. He yawned and my smile immediately faded. He was tired, and I was still wide awake from my full fucking night's sleep on the plane.

"What's wrong?" He asked, I guess noticing the change in my expression.

"I'm never going to be able to fall asleep."

"Drink some more champagne. You should definitely try to sleep if you can. I don't want you to go to stay up all night and then sleep away our first day in Italy."

"Yeah, me neither. Hand me the champagne."

He handed me the bottle and I took a big swig from it, not even bothering to use my glass. Edward had a good idea in telling me to drink more. Champagne always made me groggy, and I was hoping that it would help me fall asleep. I continued to sip on it as Edward got up and went to go make sure the front door of the suite and that the doors to outside were locked. He turned off all of the lights outside of the room and then returned.

I continued sipping on the champagne steadily as Edward went into the bathroom for a few minutes. When he came out he turned off the lights and got back into the big, fluffy bed. I took one last swig of champagne and put the bottle down next to my empty glass.

"Can I turn off the television?" Edward asked as he picked up the remote. "Or did you want to watch it some more?"

"No, you can turn it off. I want to try to go to sleep."

Edward nodded and hit the power button. The T.V. flicked off and then he put the remote down on the little table next to his side of the bed.

When I was younger and I complained that I didn't need to go to bed because I wasn't tired and I couldn't sleep, my dad would always tell me to lay down and close my eyes for thirty minutes. If I obeyed and lay there for thirty whole minutes in the dark with no distractions and didn't open my eyes at all and I _still_ couldn't fall asleep, then he would let me stay up. I never ended up making it past thirty minutes, no matter how convinced I was that I wouldn't be able to sleep.

I thought maybe the same approach would work in my adulthood.

Edward arranged and fluffed his pillows with a yawn before settling in on his side, facing away from me. I wasn't used to sleeping with another person. It definitely felt a little strange. I wondered if Edward felt that way at all about sleeping with me.

"Goodnight." I said softly, fluffing my pillow.

"Goodnight, my beautiful bride."

I settled in on my back and wiggled around until I was comfortable. Then I closed my eyes and focused on relaxing all of my muscles, something I'd once heard would help you fall asleep. I tried my best to clear my mind and keep my breathing at a slow, steady rate. The champagne helped cloud my thoughts a bit, and I hoped that it would assist my efforts.

It felt like a long time that I lay there, trying to will myself to sleep. I felt relaxed, but simply as if my body wasn't ready to turn off for the night.

As a lay there I tried to keep my mind as clear as possible, but I was rather unsuccessful. Thoughts kept popping into my mind. I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop thinking about what my life would be back like when we got back home. Undoubtedly and unavoidably, it would be completely different in every way. It was a change that I had wanted, sure, but regardless all change was still a little scary. The fear of the unknown is powerful.

However, the change was still very much exciting. It was nerve-racking, but I knew that it was a change for the better. My life already had and would only continue to benefit from this. Edward was giving me so many opportunities. He was giving me the means to build any kind of life for myself that I wanted. I was giving up the possibility of getting involved in a real relationship, but it was worth it to me.

I thought about Alice and spent some time wondering if our relationship would continue to progress. I hoped that it would, even if it continued to happen at a horribly slow pace. I thought about Carlisle and Esme and how happy I'd been that they accepted me so easily as no longer just Alice's best friend, but their daughter in law. That prompted me to think of my own parents and how relieved I was that they took my declaration of love for Edward with very little questioning. I thought about how truly beautiful the wedding itself I'd been, and how thankful I was that Alice and Esme had been willing to pretty much do all of the planning for me.

Redirecting my thoughts back to my present surroundings, I really wasn't sure how long I'd been laying there. All I knew was that it had been a significant amount of time, and I still wasn't asleep like I wanted to be.

I opened my eyes and rolled onto my side, facing Edward's back.

"Edward," I breathed softly. "Are you asleep?"

He made a bit of a mumbling, humming type sound but didn't say anything. I wasn't giving up that easily.

"Edward." I said again, a little louder, extending my fingertips to lightly touch the middle of his back.

Again, no response. I knew that I should leave him alone and let him sleep, but of course…I was far too selfish for that.

So, I leaned my upper body back a little, bent my leg to bring it up in front of myself, and straightened my leg out abruptly into the middle of his lower back.

That woke him up quickly. He jolted awake with a disgruntled sound and twisted just his upper body around to look back at me.

"What the fuck…?" He mumbled as he turned.

"Hi." I said with my sweetest smile.

"Why did you just kick me?"

"I didn't kick you."

"Yes you did."

"I just…nudged you a little bit. Don't be such a baby."

"What do you want?" He asked, absentmindedly reaching around to rub his lower back.

"I can't sleep."

"And? You felt the need to not let me sleep either?"

"Just talk to me until I fall asleep. Please?"

"You woke me up to talk? I'm _tired_."

"Please?" I asked, giving him a pleading look. "When I was little and I couldn't sleep my dad would always sit and talk to me until I did."

"That's endearing, Isabella. But I'm _really_ not looking to take on a fatherly role with you."

"Don't be a smartass. Please?"

He sighed resignedly and rolled over all the way to be on his side, facing me.

"Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

I smiled happily and shifted to get more comfortable.

"Let's play twenty questions." I said excitedly.

"Really?"

"Yes, it will be fun."

"Fine." He sighed.

I did a little happy dance on the inside, glad that he'd actually agreed. Edward had something very mysterious about him, and I was thrilled to have the chance to get some actual interesting information about him and his life.

"Okay. First question." I said, trying to remember all of the things I'd always wondered about him. "Who in your life are you closest to?"

He didn't seem to have any especially meaningful relationships in his life, and I was curious who he felt closest to.

"Cecilia."

"Your housekeeper? Are you serious?" I asked, definitely expecting that.

"I know it sounds strange, but she's been in my life for a long time. I see her every single day. We've developed a bond that I enjoy very much. She's taken on almost a motherly role in my life, not that I'm lacking anything with my own mother."

"That's…sweet I guess. Next question. Wh –"

"Isn't it my turn?" He interrupted.

"Wait, what? I thought I was just going to ask you twenty questions."

"I'm pretty sure that's not the way the game works." He laughed. "If you get twenty questions, so do I."

"Fine." I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm an open book. Ask away."

"What do you want to do when you graduate school? Career wise, I mean. You're so wonderfully motivated to finish school. It seems to be your motivation for marrying me. So what is the light at the end of the tunnel? What's your goal?"

I was a little bit taken aback at his question. My career goals didn't seem like something I would think he would find particularly interesting, much less something he would want to use one of his questions on.

"I want to start my own company. I want to get into large-scale sales promotion and specialized marketing services for major corporations. There's so much you can do with that kind of business. There are so many different kinds of promotion to get into."

"Starting your own company is going to take a lot of networking. I can help you with that. You should go for it. I think you'd be great at starting your own business. You have the right personality for it."

"Thanks." I smiled. "We'll see. It's a big goal."

"It's a great goal."

"Okay, next question." I said, not wanting to talk about business. "I was surprised when you started speaking Italian so fluently earlier. Do you speak any other languages?"

"I speak French also, but that's all. I took classes when I was young so it was fairly easy for me to pick up.

"So just French and Italian?"

"And English, yes. My turn." He smiled. "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"Sixteen. I thought I was a lot more mature than I was."

"Do you regret it then?"

"You already got your question. It's my turn."

"Fine." He laughed.

"I know you don't have any desire for a real relationship right now, but have you ever had one? Have you ever been in love?"

"That's two questions. Which one would you like me to answer?"

"Are you serious?"

"Very. If I don't get to break the rules, neither do you."

"Fine. Have you ever been in love?"

"Yes." He said with a totally indifferent expression.

I wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not because I wasn't sure how I'd been expecting him to answer. I wanted to know more, but it wasn't my turn and even if it was I had no idea what I'd ask about it.

"Go on." I urged.

"Did you at all consider backing out of this before the wedding? Did you have any second thoughts?"

"Nope. Once I'd decided I was going to do it my mind was made up. I wondered if I was crazy for doing this, but I never actually considered backing out. It's always been worth it to me."

"To me as well."

"Have you been in love _recently_?" I asked as a continuation of my previous question.

To be honest, it was Rosalie that I had in mind. I don't know if I really thought that the situation between her and Edward was _that_ extreme, but it had become very apparent to me at the wedding that their relationship was more than one of just people who ran in the same circle. They way they had interacted during the conversation that I'd eavesdropped on had me wondering if they had maybe been involved at some point.

"No." He said, lifting his hand to scratch the back of his neck. "No, it was a very long time ago."

"Oh." I said stupidly.

He gave me a small smile before continuing.

"If I ask about things that you love, what are the first three that come to mind?"

"My dad, thunderstorms, and peanut butter." I said, simply listing off the first things that popped into my mind.

"Peanut butter?" He laughed.

"Yeah, I love peanut butter." I said with a shrug. "It was the third thing I thought of. I'm just being honest."

"Fair enough." He answered with an amused smile.

I wanted to use my next question to again ask something that I thought might give me some insight into the Rosalie situation, but honestly didn't know what else to ask. I would feel stupid to just ask right out what was up, and I couldn't ask anything related to their conversation at the wedding without telling him that I'd been eavesdropping. So, I moved on.

"What's your favorite part of your body?"

"Of _my_ body?"

"Yeah."

I thought everything about his body was sexy and I was curious what one feature he would pick himself.

"Hmm…" He hummed thoughtfully. "I guess, as you've so sweetly named it, my huge monster cock."

I laughed loudly and shoved his shoulder playfully.

"Don't make fun of me! It really is huge. I was caught off guard."

"I'm not making fun of you." He laughed. "I'm flattered."

"Is your penis really your favorite physical feature?"

"No, probably my height." He said more seriously. "I've always thought it would be horrible to be short as a man. It would be terribly emasculating."

"That's a good one." I nodded. "No girl wants a short guy. They want tall, dark, and handsome."

"Am I tall, dark and handsome?" He smirked, wrapping one arm around my waist to pull my body up against his.

"I don't know about dark and handsome." I teased. "But you're definitely tall."

"What's your favorite sexual position?"

It hadn't been my intention, but it seemed our little game was developing a sexual tone.

"I like being on top." I said, rekindling my sultry tone from earlier.

"I had a feeling." He smirked.

"What's your favorite part of _my _body?"

"Mm, that's tough. Everything about your body turns me on. But I do have to say, I'm quite partial to your ass…"

"I had a feeling." I smiled, mimicking him.

"Why won't you have oral sex with me?"

I felt my smile slowly start to fall. I was getting into our little game, but then he'd had to go and ask a question that he had no idea was as complicated as it was. When I'd told him that oral sex was a deal breaker for me, the only reason I gave was that I felt like it was too intimate of an act for our situation. Even though that was a small _part_ or my reasoning, he obviously hadn't bought it as I'd thought he had.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair as I tried to think of something quickly to tell him. I didn't really owe him an explanation, but I didn't want to be a total bitch or childish and pull the 'none of your business' thing. He was simply asking a question.

"What's something about yourself that you think is embarrassing?"

I shifted my eyes back to his and the look that I found in them accompanied with his small, soft smile told me what he was doing. He was giving me a different question, an alternative to answering the one that I obviously didn't want to. I was grateful that he was willing to let the question go without asking what my hesitation was about.

"I cry like a fucking baby when I see those really sad commercials about abused animals."

And just like that, all thoughts of the skipped question were gone. We continued asking each other questions, not really keeping track of how many we were at, until Edward was ready to pass out and I was starting to get drowsy. He fell asleep first, but just barely. His steady breathing lulled me to sleep within minutes.

In the end, my night came to a close much more pleasant than I'd expected.

.

.

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**A/N:**

**FOR THOSE ASKING ABOUT LIFE HAD OTHER PLANS, LOOK FOR AN UPDATE TOMORROW! **

**I know I'm mean with all the mystery that you're all so suspenseful to have resolved, but I promise that nothing will go unanswered!**

**Some of you were disappointed in the lemon last chapter, I guess because of Bella's conflicting feelings, so I hope you enjoyed this one a little more :)**

**Some people expressed some worry that there would be cheating in this story, and while I don't want to give away major plot points, I can assure you that cheating will **_**not**_** occur. **

**As for Holly and Rosalie, I'm intrigued that you're all so apprehensive of Holly. As for Rose, don't be so quick to write her off! She has her own story, don't forget! There are always multiple sides!**

**Jenn….Twitter: JennaRayFF**

**Don't be shy! Let me know what you thought! You're lovely thoughts are the only payment I get for writing this :)**


	14. Dance With The Devil

**A/N: **

**I **_**could **_**sit here and write a whole long letter about my absence, but I'll keep it short and to the point. I needed it, so I took it. It was worth it to me to wait it out until I knew for sure that I was definitely ready to jump back into this versus updating once or twice and falling off the wagon again. So, in short, I'm ready to jump back in. Hopefully, most of my readers have had the patience and understanding to wait for me.**

**Enjoy.**

**(It's been a while, as you know, so I STRONGLY encourage a quick re-read of recent chapters.) **

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Can we go back to Italy?"

"Sure. We can go back sometime."

"No, I mean now." I said seriously.

Edward laughed and shook his head at me.

"We're not even home yet, Isabella."

I sighed and turned my head to look out the window.

"I miss it."

"Already?"

"Already. I've never been anywhere so beautiful. You don't miss it?"

"I haven't had enough _time_ to miss it." He chuckled. "And anyway, I'm glad to be almost home. It was nice to get away for a while, but I'm anxious to get back into my routine."

"What a stiff." I scoffed with a little bit of an eye roll.

Edward laughed and just continued driving happily down the highway. I was glad that he didn't take my insults too seriously. He seemed to be getting used to them, which was a good thing. He _needed_ thick skin to be married to me.

We drove the rest of the way back to the house in relative silence. We were both exhausted, and it was evident in our lack of conversation.

As we pulled up the long and winding driveway, Edward hit the button on his garage door opener to open it up. As soon as the door was open high enough, my eyes flitted to admire my white Audi; my prized position. I'd missed it, as stupid as that sounds. I smiled lovingly at it, like a mother at her baby.

"Is that Alice?" Edward said suddenly as he slowed to a stop.

"What? Where?"

"Pulling up behind us."

I turned to look over my shoulder out of the back window and sure enough, there was Alice, pulling up behind us in her red BMW.

"Oh, yeah, it is. Weird…" I answered.

I unfastened my seatbelt and flung my door open, slipping out of the car. Alice got out of hers at the same time and we moved towards each other, meeting in the middle. She had her purse slung over one shoulder and was holding a grocery back in the opposite hand.

"Hey…" She said timidly, greeting me with a small smile.

"What's up?" I asked, surprised to randomly see her there.

"I just wanted to stop by and see how the honeymoon went. I'm sorry if it seems creepy and stalker-like that I pulled up at the same time as you guys. Mom told me what time your flight got in and I kind of guessed when you would be home."

Even though this awkward tension had been between us for months now, it was impossible to get used to. I hated it.

"Don't be absurd." Edward said smoothly, coming up next to me. "You know that you're welcome here any time, Alice."

"Thanks. So, Bella, I was going to bring you a bottle of champagne but that just seemed so formal and weird for me and you so I brought you something I thought may be a little more personal." She said, this time with a more genuine looking smile.

"Okay…"

She fished into the grocery bag and pulled out the first item.

"Tequila." She said happily, holding up a bottle of Patron. "And Oreos." She added, nodding towards the bag in her other hand.

"Two of my favorite things!" I squealed happily, going over to her to take both items.

"I thought you'd be pleased." She laughed.

"I love champagne, but you can't beat Tequila and Oreos."

"That's exactly what I thought you would say."

"Thank you, Alice. That was really sweet of you. But why did you feel the need to bring me anything in the first place?" I asked as I took my goodies into my arms.

"Well, I uh…"

As she trailed off her eyes shifted to Edward. She looked at him as if she would prefer him not there. He got the hint.

"I'll give you two some privacy." He said. "I'm going to start unloading our bags from the car."

"Okay, great. Thanks." I answered, watching him walk back towards the car.

Edward retrieved the first two of our bags and started wheeling them towards the front door and into the house.

_Surprised he doesn't hire someone to do that for him…_

"I guess this is kind of a bribe." Alice said once he was gone.

"A bribe for what?" I asked.

"Forgiveness?" She asked timidly, biting her lip.

"Forgiveness?" I asked, raising my eyebrows with confusion. "For what?"

"I just…" She paused and sighed. "I just feel kind of bad. After the wedding I just kind of realized that I haven't been the best friend to you lately. You know, since the whole you and Edward getting engaged ordeal. I've been pretty selfish. I guess I was so mad at you because I felt left out. It hurt my feelings that you didn't tell me you guys were seeing each other. But that's not a reason for me to be mad at you. Sure, it hurt my feelings, but it was your business. I wish you would have told me, but you didn't owe it to me.

"I still should have you told, though. He's your brother."

Little did Alice know, I _would_ have told her if Edward and I had been dating. What I couldn't tell her…was that we didn't actually date at all.

"Well it doesn't matter. It's in the past now. And I want to move forward. I want to get back to the way we were. I want to be best friends again."

"Me too!" I answered enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, Alice, that's all I've been wanting all along. I miss you!"

She smiled widely and bounced over to me happily, throwing her arms around me in a big hug. I hugged her back as best as I could, but it was kind of difficult while holding my tequila and Oreos.

"We're sisters now! Just think I've all the fun things we can do!"

"Alice, what can we possibly do now that we _couldn't_ do before?"

She pulled back from our hug with a thoughtful expression followed up with a shrug.

"I don't know, but we do have the same last name now."

I laughed and smoothed down a stray piece of her hair that was sticking up.

"Do you want to come inside for some Oreos?"

"No, I can't stay. I have plans with Jasper and I'm sure you guys are tired from that long flight."

I sighed a loud, over-dramatic, playful sigh.

"Fine. I guess I'll just have to eat my Oreos all by my lonesome self."

"Well I hope you have peanut butter. I totally forgot to get some. I didn't think about until I was already on my way over."

"You know me so well." I laughed. "What would Oreos be without peanut butter!"

"Just plain Oreos!"

"The horror!" I gasped.

"Enjoy your cookies, weirdo. I've got to go."

"Thank you for coming over, Alice. I really appreciate it. And I'm relieved that you want to be best friends again."

"You're welcome." She answered with a smile as she skipped happily back towards her car. "Call me. Let's do something this weekend."

"Okay, I will. I'm going to hold you to that."

"Counting on it." She said, winking at me before slipping into the driver's seat.

"Well that was a brief visit."

I turned around to see Edward descending the steps from the front door, heading back to the car again.

"Yeah, she had plans with Jasper. She just came by to give me presents." I said with a big smile.

"I see that. Tequila and Oreos. How…thoughtful."

"It was thoughtful. These are two of my favorite things, _for your information_."

"Good to know." He chuckled, pulling two more bags out of the car.

He sat the bags down, shut the door to the car and locked it, and then carried the bags back up the steps. I followed behind him, tequila and Oreos in tow.

"You're not going to pull your car into the garage?" I asked as I followed him.

"I'll get it later." He said as he walked through the front door.

Before walking through the doorway, I looked back at the garage with a frown. He had already opened the door, and my beautiful car was sitting in there, now exposed to the world!

I walked into the house and closed the door behind me. Edward took off with our last two bags up the staircase, I assumed headed to our room.

_Our room._

It was so strange to think of his house as _our_ house. It was hard to wrap my mind around the concept that I lived there now. It was one thing to shack up with Edward in a hotel in Italy for a couple weeks, but I felt like I was back on his territory now. It was going to take me a while to get used to thinking of this gorgeous mansion as _home._

Edward disappeared upstairs while I made my way to the kitchen in search of peanut butter. After some searching I found a jar in a meticulously organized cabinet. I took it down, grabbed a paper plate, and headed upstairs. I left the tequila in the kitchen. I was already exhausted. I didn't need to be drunk on top of that.

As I made my way upstairs from the kitchen, I wondered if I would ever get used to living in such an immaculate place. Everything was so fancy and so clean. I'd never lived that way before.

In the bedroom, I didn't see Edward, but I could hear him rummaging around in the bathroom. My bags were lined up neatly against the wall next to the double doors that led to the bathroom suite, but they could wait. I didn't feel the need to deal with them right away.

As I plopped down on the bed, I noticed that Edward had turned the news on the T.V. I picked up the remote and starting skimming through channels to find something that was actually interesting. I found the movie A Night at the Roxbury playing on Comedy Central and was perfectly happy to settle on that.

As I got into the movie I opened up my jar of peanut butter and then tore open my package of Oreos. I dunked my first cookie into the peanut butter like a glass of milk and let out a satisfying moan as I popped it into my mouth. I continued popping Oreo after Oreo as I lost myself in the hilarity of Will Ferrell. So much so, I didn't even notice Edward come out of the bathroom.

"Are you serious?"

"gbwhat?" I mumbled through a mouth full of chocolaty peanut butter goodness.

"You're eating cookies on my bed?"

I forcefully swallowed my mouth full of yummy so I could flash him my most angelic smile.

"No, honey. I'm eating cookies on _our_ bed."

"Why do you even have a plate? You're not even using it."

I glanced over at the plate he was referring to, the one sitting next to me untouched, and shrugged.

"I don't know." I answered before biting off half of the peanut butter smothered cookie that was in my hand.

"Decided my eight hundred dollar comforter would make a better eating surface?" He asked flatly.

I didn't mean to, honest. I just couldn't help my natural reaction to the price that he had evidently paid for a fucking blanket. In a huff of shock, I…well, I literally huffed. I huffed, I puffed, and I sprayed cookie crumbs _everywhere_.

"You've got to be kidding…" Edward mumbled, hurrying over to the bed.

I gulped down what remained in my mouth and took in a huge breath to help me recover.

"Um, hell yeah, _you_ have to be kidding! You spent eight hundred dollars on a fucking blanket?"

"Yes. And you just defiled it with your revolting concoction of junk food…" He answered as he began furiously wiping away at the most expensive blanket in the world, trying to rid it of the crumbs.

"Okay, first of all, don't even go there, insulting the best snack ever like that. Two, that's what you get for investing that much money in a fucking blanket."

"Move." He instructed as he nudged my thigh with his sweeping hand.

I sighed and obliged, getting up and taking my food with me so Edward could continue fuss over the Holy blanket, maybe pee on it if he wanted to mark his territory properly.

"No wonder you had to pay somebody to marry you…" I mumbled under my breath.

I was feeling pretty full, so I decided to take an intermission from my little snack and maybe make somewhat of an attempt to unpack some of my clothes. I put my food down on the bedside table and sauntered off to the bathroom. When I walked in through those double doors, I couldn't help but smile. That bathroom was a woman's dream. Of course I'd seen it before, but I had a feeling I would never get used to it.

I crossed the expanse of the beautiful room to the door that led to the closet.

_My new, huge, spacious, luxurious closet…_

I cracked the door open and peered around it inside, as if I expected to see something other than what I knew was in there. I sighed when I realized that, unfortunately, the stacks of boxes that occupied my half had not unpacked themselves in my absence.

About half of my wardrobe and miscellaneous junk was packed up in those boxes. Due to my expertise in procrastination, the other half of my belongings were still at my apartment. I had wanted to get everything moved over that week before the wedding but, clearly, I did not do a very good job.

"Wishing that you'd listened to me now?" Edward said, suddenly behind me.

"About what?" I asked, stepping into the closet and peering into a box.

"About getting everything out of your apartment _before_ the wedding."

I shrugged and turned around to face him.

"It doesn't matter, really. I'm still stuck in that lease. There's no point in rushing."

"I suppose. But wouldn't you prefer having all of your things in one place?"

I shrugged again.

"I don't know. I made sure to get everything that I need. Most of the stuff that's still over there is just junk. I'll probably throw most of it away."

"You've got a lot of unpacking to do. There are a bunch of boxes downstairs too."

"Yeah, I know…"

I pilfered aimlessly through a box while I thought about unpacking all of these boxes. Where would I put everything? It was going to be weird to unpack all of my stuff into Edward's house. Maybe I could try to keep it all confined to my half of the gigantic closet. I didn't want to invade his space or anything.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, still standing in the doorway looking at me.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" I answered, looking up at him.

"You're quiet."

"So? Maybe I just don't have anything to say. People are quiet all the time. It doesn't mean anything is wrong."

"Normal people are quiet all the time, yes. Isabella Swan? No. You always have something to say about something."

I shook my head and laughed as I folded the top of my box back up again, deciding I didn't want to deal with any of my stuff at the moment.

"Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking of how weird it's going to be to unpack my stuff into your house."

"Why will that be weird?" He asked, leaning against the door frame and folding his arms over his chest.

"I don't know, I just…I think it's going to take me quite a while to get used to the thought of living here. It's much more real now that we're here, back from Italy. I guess I was so excited to go that I didn't really give much thought to what things would be like when we got back."

"I'm sure it will be an adjustment for both of us. Just as it will take you some time to get used to living here, it will take _me_ some times to get used to having you here."

"What if we get sick of each other?"

"It's a big house. I'm sure we can keep our distance if need be."

I nodded and raked my fingers through my hair, immediately cringing. It felt dirty and knotted.

"I feel disgusting. I hate the way I feel after I've been on an airplane. I need a shower."

"I was just thinking the same thing, but you can go first if you want."

"Okay, thanks."

Edward left the bathroom and clicked the doors closed behind him. As I walked to the shower I began stripping off my clothes until they were in a pile on the tile floor and I was as naked as the day I was born. I pulled the glass door open and reached inside, turning the spray of water to a pretty hot setting. I was just about to step in when I realized that all of my shower necessities were still in my bag that was still in the bedroom.

I sighed and closed the door again before making my way over to the doors that Edward had just closed. I opened one of them and stuck just my head out. Edward was lounging across the bed, one arm behind his head, flipping through the channels.

"Edward!" I scolded with a dramatized gasp. "I can't believe you're lying on the eight hundred dollar blanket in your dirty clothes!"

"I thought you were taking a shower."

"I am, but I forgot my bag in here. It has stuff I need in it. Close your eyes so I can get it."

"You seriously want me to close my eyes? You know that it's nothing I haven't seen already…"

"But…that's different."

I wasn't sure how, but it was.

Edward laughed and shook his head as he closed his eyes.

"Fine. I'm not looking."

"Thank you."

I opened the door wider and slipped out into the bedroom. The ceiling fan was going pretty high. A gust of cold wind hit me and caused my nipples to harden as well as goosebumps to break out all over my skin. I turned around to face my bags against the wall, my back to Edward, and unzipped the bag that I thought my toiletries were in just to be sure I was grabbing the right one. I bent over and dug through it, shifting around some clothes, until I found the plastic of bag of items I was looking for. I straightened back up, picking up my bag, and turned back around.

Edward was staring at me, bright green eyes twinkling, with a big smirk on his face.

"Edward!"

"What?" He laughed. "Did you really think I wouldn't look?"

"You're such a perv…" I muttered, scurrying back into the bathroom and shoving the door closed behind me.

I took a long, long, hot shower. I thoroughly lathered my hair, scratching my scalp, and meticulously scrubbed at my skin to try to get the rid of that dewy airplane feeling. I shaved my legs along with all my girly bits before, most satisfyingly, scrubbing my face with my minty facial scrub. When I finished, I felt astronomically better. It felt so good to feel clean, but standing under the hot spray in Edward's luxurious shower felt too good to come to an end so quickly. So, I lingered, simply standing in the steam as I let the water pour over my body.

I have no idea how long I stood there, but I didn't turn the water off until it was starting to get lukewarm instead of hot. I snatched the towel that I'd hung over the glass door before getting in and used it to towel myself dry. I wrung my hair out and then patted it with the towel as best as I could. As I stepped out of the shower, I wrapped the towel around my body and tucked it into itself under my arm.

It was steamy and muggy in the bathroom, so I certainly didn't feel like putting on any clothes right away. Besides, I hated putting on clothes when wet anyway. Instead, I figured I would cool off and let myself air-dry for a bit in the bedroom while Edward showered.

Back in the bedroom, Edward was still on the bed, nearly in the same position he'd been in before. His eyes shifted to me as I opened the door.

"Shower's free." I told him.

"Oh yeah? Is there even any hot water left?" He asked, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"I wasn't in there _that _long."

He moved and swung his legs over the side of the bed so he could stand up.

"It was over thirty minutes." He told me as he walked over to where I still stood in the doorway.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, I was shaving…"

"Mm, is that so?"

"Yes." I said, furrowing my eyebrows at him.

He bent a little at the knees until he could reach to put his hand on the back of my knee. He started sliding it slowly upwards, along the backside of my thigh.

"Smooth…" He commented in a low tone, keeping his mesmerizing eyes settled on mine.

"Well, yes, that _is _generally the effect of shaving." I laughed.

He kept sliding his hand up higher, turning it more towards the inside of my thigh.

"Is that…_all_ that you shaved?"

My laughter faded, my heartbeat quickened, and all of my nerve endings started to wake up and buzz with wonder at what he was trying to start. I swallowed and bit my lip, trying to think of something witty to respond with.

I had nothing.

"No." I answered simply, refusing to be the one to break our eye contact.

He moved his hand up a little more until his fingertips just barely grazed against my lower lips. Sparks crackled down there as things stirred. My breath hitched at the contact, just barely enough to draw a blood flow down there.

He smiled at me and withdrew his hand, drawing up to his full height again. He moved that hand to my neck, stroking my heated skin with his knuckles.

"You look positively delectable, Isabella…all flushed and wet."

I watched his hand as his fingers trailed across my collar bone and down my chest. He moved to pinch the end of my towel between his fingers and tugged until it came loose of where it was tucked into itself. He gently pulled it down at an angle, exposing just my left breast.

He didn't palm or grope my breast in an overly sexual way. He simply brushed his thumb ever so lightly in a circular motion over my nipple. It hardened immediately at the stimulation. I expected him to continue in some form, but he didn't. He simply smiled at me and walked into the bathroom, disrobing as he did.

I had to admit, I was a little caught off guard by the amount of sexual advances that Edward had made towards me since the wedding. Well, lack thereof, I guess I should say. On our honeymoon, we'd had sex a total of five times. Two of those times were on the first night. I'd been expecting more sex, but maybe my expectations were off. We were not _real_ newlyweds, after all. We were newly married, but we weren't in love. Maybe that was the reason.

All the sex that we _did_ have was great. It had felt just as casual as we'd planned it to. Just as that first night, each of the three times after that had either been him taking me from behind or me riding him. These were arguably two of the least intimate positions to have sex in and the sex did indeed feel like just that, not intimate. However, that didn't mean that it wasn't good sex. Edward was very skilled in the bedroom. With the exception of that second time, when I'd been solely been trying to prove myself, I came each time.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?"

I blinked a few times as Edward's voice brought me back to my surroundings. I hadn't realized that I'd been standing there just staring at him stupidly. He was now completely naked, standing in front of open shower door.

"I, uh…no, sorry."

I closed the bathroom door quickly and readjusted my towel securely around my body. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and went to lay down on the bed where I could cool off from my steamy shower. The fan blowing on my heated skin felt phenomenal.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the breeze dancing along my body.

.

.

I was awoken by Edward nudging my leg. I groaned and lifted my hand to rub my eyes. I guess I'd fallen asleep while enjoying the fan. Edward was standing at the bed, a towel slung loosely around his waist.

"Really, Isabella? Even after I tell you how much this blanket costs, you go to sleep on it wet?"

_Okay, enough with this damn blanket._

I jumped up, tucking my towel back together so I didn't have to hold it, and ripped the blanket off of the bed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Edward asked.

I dragged the blanket across the room, through the bathroom, and over to the closet. I shoved it through the door so it landed in a big pile on the floor and then I marched over to one of my boxes in the back corner where I knew my desired item was packed away. I yanked out my old black and brown zebra print bedspread and carried it back out to the bedroom.

"What is _that_?" Edward asked condescendingly as he followed me.

"I got this at Target for like twenty five bucks." I answered as I fluffed it out over the bed.

"No, absolutely not. That doesn't even go with décor of the room. It cheapens all of my furniture and it looks like it was made for a twelve year old girl."

"I think it _was_ made for a twelve year old girl." I answered.

"So then why are you putting it on my bed?"

"Because I don't want to listen to you bitch about your eight hundred dollar blanket anymore. Who spends that much on bedding?"

"It's stuffed with goose feathers. It's stitched by hand."

"I'm allergic to gooses."

"You mean _geese_?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Are you really?"

"No."

"I don't want this ratty old blanket on my bed. I don't even want to sleep next to it. Has it ever even been washed?"

"Okay, I have a question. Did you really go to the department store and search high and low for the comforter with the most intricate stitching? Are you really that metro sexual?"

"Of course not. My decorator picked it out."

"How about I sleep with my blanket on my side, and you can sleep with yours on your side. That way you don't have to worry about me messing it up."

He sighed and turned back towards the bathroom.

"Forget it. We'll sleep with the zebra blanket."

Annoyed, I went back into my closet to put some clothes on. The fact that we were arguing this much over a damn blanket made me seriously worry about how I would adjust to living with this crazy man. I'm sure that I wasn't easy to adjust to either. We both had such strong personalities, and it was already proving difficult to try to mesh them together.

As we moved around the bathroom area, getting ready for bed, we remained in silence. Being a boy, he didn't have nearly as much of a beauty regimen as I did. By the time he'd gone off to bed, I was still cleansing my face. After that I still had to brush my teeth, comb through my hair, and moisturize. When I was finally finished I put all of my things away, not wanting to ruffle Edward's OCD feathers, and headed out for the bedroom.

The room was dark and quiet. Edward had turned the T.V. off and was in bed totally still. I flicked off the bathroom light as I exited and then it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, I started to feel really awkward. This was different than sharing a bed with Edward in a hotel room. This was _his_ bed. I felt like I was imposing on him or something.

As my eyes began to adjust to the darkness, I could see that Edward was facing away from me, towards the wall. I wasn't sure if he was awake, but I assumed he was since I didn't hear the heavy breathing that normally indicated someone was sleeping. I sighed and lifted the blankets just enough so I could slip between the sheets. My body immediately relaxed into the bed. The mattress was way more comfortable than I'd been expecting, the perfect balance between soft and firm. Even the sheets were nice. I was sure they were fancy and expensive, but they felt amazing against my freshly shaved legs. And then there were the plush, feathery pillows. They were by far the best part. I sunk right into them, melting like butter.

I thought I would feel more uncomfortable going to sleep in Edward's bed, but apparently I was more exhausted from our trip than I'd even realized. Surprisingly, I was asleep within minutes.

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.

.

The next morning, it was evident that the Honeymoon was over and it was back into a routine. Well, at least for Edward it was. For me, it was time to create a new one. I was officially living in Edward's home, and everything felt different. I rolled over onto my back and opened my eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight that invaded the room. My head felt foggy and my body felt heavy. I immediately felt like I'd slept too long, which was confirmed when I looked over at the alarm clock and saw that it was almost noon. I didn't expect Edward to still be there, but glanced over at his side of the bed anyway to find it empty, as expected.

With a sigh, I sat up and rubbed at my groggy face. I had no idea if Edward was even in the house or if I was there alone. It was a strong possibility that he'd left for his office. I wasn't sure if he'd been planning on working that day or not. Most people took a day or two to recover after traveling, particularly out of the country, but I already knew that Edward was unpredictable. He traveled so often, maybe he was used to heading straight back to work.

I took a few minutes to change my clothes and brush my teeth and my hair, slightly tangled from my sleep. Once I felt that I looked acceptable in the event that I _did_ run into Edward, I headed downstairs to access the situation. I descended down the back staircase, closest to Edward's bedroom…_our_ bedroom, and made my way down the hall. It was lined with expensive looking paintings and a beautiful dark colored marble floor. The marble made my feet cold and I suddenly wished I'd chosen warmer clothes to put on than the tiny T-shirt and short cotton shorts that I'd opted for.

I jumped in surprise when a door to my right suddenly opened and a frumpy woman emerged carrying a laundry basket. I was startled for a moment but quickly recognized her as Cecilia, Edward's housekeeper. I'd totally forgotten about her.

"Oh, Mrs. Cullen! So sorry, Dear. I did not mean to frighten you." She said with her thick accent.

"No, no, it's okay." I answered quickly, waving my hand dismissively. "You just surprised me, that's all. I thought you didn't come until two?" I asked, remembering the times Edward had given me for when she worked.

"Usually, yes." She answered with a nod. "But today, no. Mr. Cullen had given me time off during your trip to Italy and there is some extra cleaning that needs to be done due to my absence. So for today, I come early."

"Oh, okay." I nodded, offering her a shy smile.

"Would you like me to prepare you some lunch?" She asked kindly.

"Um, well, actually…I think I'm more in search of breakfast. I slept really late…" I explained, blushing slightly.

I didn't want her to think I was a lazy slob that slept all day.

"Of course, of course, you're tired from your trip. Come with me. I just restocked the kitchen this morning. Let us see what we can find our pretty bride to eat for breakfast."

Cecilia was definitely eccentric, and hard to understand at times, but I already knew that I liked her. She had a motherly vibe that I liked, but she was incredibly down to earth for someone who worked for my uptight husband on a daily basis.

I followed her eagerly the rest of the way down the hall, my stomach growling with every step. I was starving. She deposited her laundry basket just outside of the kitchen and then scurried over to the refrigerator. I hopped up on one of the barstools and began playing with the ends of my hair awkwardly. I was by no means used to somebody cooking for me. It felt like something that I should be doing myself.

"What would you like?" She asked warmly, smiling at me expectantly.

"Um, well, what do we have?"

"I just did the grocery shopping this morning. I can make whatever you want, I think."

"Um…" I pondered, having no idea what I wanted to eat.

"If I may suggest, I make a very good omelet. It is what Mr. Cullen usually eats for breakfast if I'm here."

My stomach growled longingly at the suggestion. I nodded enthusiastically, smiling at her.

"An omelet sounds awesome." I agreed.

"Very good. Coming right up, Mrs. Cullen."

"Oh, please, call me Bella." I insisted, still not used to my married name.

"Okay, Bella." She agreed with a nod.

"Did Edward go to work?" I asked curiously as I watched her pull ingredients from the refrigerator.

"No, not today. I believe he is here in his office."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, he work from home often."

I nodded and blushed a bit. Being his wife, I should know that. I wondered if Cecilia had any suspicions of our arrangement and made a mental note to try to be consciously wifely around her. As a newlywed, I decided I should probably want to say good morning to my husband.

"I think I'll go say good morning to him." I said softly, sliding down off the bar stool.

"Of course, I'll have your breakfast set out for you in twenty minutes. Good?"

"Yes, thank you." I agreed.

Following Cecilia's information of where Edward was, I made my way through the halls of my husband's estate until Ifound myself outside of his office doors. The doors were cracked open and, just to be polite, I knocked twice before pushing them open enough to let myself in. He glanced over at me from where he was seated in his big leather chair, speaking authoritatively into the phone.

"No, I don't care."

"You think I'm not aware of that?"

"Yeah, well, he needs to learn how to play with the big dogs before he starts barking."

"Do I sound like I give a fuck? If he wants to try to back me into a corner on this then I'll liquidate the company like the flick of a switch. It's cash in my pocket and a foot up his ass. This is a win, win for me."

I raised my eyebrows at Edward, intrigued. I had no idea who he was talking to or what he was talking about, but I liked his no-nonsense demeanor. Was it a possibility that my husband was a badass? He watched me with impassive eyes as I slinked over towards his desk and lowered myself into the seat across from him.

"Look, I don't want to hear any more about this, understood? He has my answer."

"That's fine. Have the details sent over to me. And I want that expense report faxed within the hour."

"Good."

With that, he hung up the phone with a click and then looked up at me with a hint of a smirk. I would have thought by hearing his conversation that something was wrong, but he appeared as though this was how he did business every day.

"Good morning, Isabella." He greeted me smoothly.

"Hi."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm glad that your first night in the house wasn't strange for you."

"I thought it would be, but I was so tired I guess it didn't matter."

"Evidently. Do you always sleep this late?"

"No." I blushed.

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes. I don't understand people who sleep into the afternoon. It's unproductive."

I blushed harder.

"Right. So what time did you get up then?" I asked.

"I've been up since five."

"_Five?_ Why?"

"Because I was done sleeping." He shrugged. "I don't believe that we require as much sleep as we're used to having."

"But what is there to do at five in the morning?"

"Well I worked out, had breakfast, showered and got dressed, and the rest of the morning I've spent getting caught up on business."

"Yeah, well, I don't have business to catch up on. It's my summer vacation. I'm supposed to relax and sleep in."

"So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

I shrugged as I tried to think of something to answer him with. I already felt like he was judging me for sleeping in so late, so I didn't want to tell him that I in fact had no plans.

"I thought maybe I'd go try to pick up some more of my stuff from my apartment." I improvised.

"Okay, great. I'll go with you."

"Oh, you don't have to co –"

"I want to." He cut me off. "I want to see where you live. Or lived, I suppose."

"You've already seen it." I countered, blushing slightly as I remembered the time on my couch that he got some serious revenge on me for being a cocktease in his pool.

"Barely. Your couch was pretty much the extent of what I saw. I didn't even get to see your room."

"Why do you need to see my room?"

"Because I want to understand you better."

"By seeing my room?"

"Of course. Do you not want me to see it?"

I shrugged, fidgeting a little in my seat.

"It's just…I mean, it's not very nice or anything."

"It's not like I'm going to judge you, Isabella. It's just a room."

"I'm just going to be moving boxes."

"Okay, well I can help you."

"You don't seem the type to move anything."

"Neither do you. I really wish you would have let me hire movers to do it."

"I don't want strangers touching my stuff. It's not that much. I can handle it. Besides, I'm just saving you money."

He laughed, clearly amused.

"That amount of money would be insignificant to me, Bella."

"Right…" I said with a grimace, always having been irritated with people who bragged about money.

"And I'm not going to have you moving boxes yourself. As irritating as you find me, I was raised to be a gentleman. No respectable man would ever sit at home while his wife is out doing manual labor, whatever the reason."

"I'm not really your wife, so you're off the hook."

He raised his eyebrows at me, smirking again.

"Would you like to see the marriage certificate?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up out of my chair, turning towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To eat. Cecilia made me an omelet for breakfast."

"You mean lunch." He corrected.

"No, I mean _breakfast_."

"It's noon, Isabella."

"So? I just woke up. Therefore, it is my _breakfast_."

He laughed again and I sighed. He seemed to get a kick out of our frequent banter while it just annoyed the shit out of me.

"Enjoy your omelet. Cecilia is a fantastic cook. When you're finished get dressed appropriately and meet me out front."

I wanted to tell him not to give me orders, but I had a feeling that he wasn't being bossy on purpose. It was clear that my husband had a serious lack of communication skills outside of the office atmosphere. I decided to cut him some slack, but he certainly wasn't going to get away with talking to me like an employee forever.

Cecilia went above and beyond, laying out a full spread of breakfast food. I'd only been expecting the omelet I'd asked for, but I got much more. There was my omelet accompanied by toast, hash browns, mixed fruit, and a tall glace of ice cold orange juice. I ate it all, every last bite. I'd always seemed to just naturally maintain my thin and petite frame, but man could I put food down. Especially Cecilia's food. It was phenomenal. I just hoped that my freakishly fast metabolism didn't slow down on me one day. I would be fucked.

After I finished eating, I followed Edward's instructions and went upstairs to change. I threw on the closest things that I had to work out attire, wanting to be prepared for packing up stuff and moving boxes around. I threw on some socks and sneakers and tied my hair up in a ponytail before going to meet Edward outside. He was waiting, as I expected, but there was someone else there that I _hadn't_ been expecting.

"Bella!" Emmett cheered loudly, beaming at me from where he stood next to Edward.

They were standing in front of a big, black truck that I'd never seen before. I wondered if it belonged to Edward, which was very possible, and then began to wonder what Emmett was doing there either way.

"Hey, Emmett." I answered, returning his smile, as I made my way down the steps from the front door.

"How's my new little sister?" He asked with a happy chuckle.

"I'm good. It's good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Emmett was nice enough to let us borrow his truck to move your things. I thought it would be a bit more efficient than your car." Edward interjected.

"Yeah, probably so." I laughed, imagining trying to squeeze boxes into my tiny Audi. "How will you get home?" I asked Emmett, hoping he wouldn't be stranded at Edward's house until we got back.

"Little Eddie is letting me taking that Aston Martin as collateral." He explained with a wide, boyish grin.

"Nice." I laughed.

"Are you ready to go?" Edward asked me.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I nodded.

I watched as the two brothers exchanged keys and then shared one of those I'm-too-manly-to-hug-you-bro handshake type things.

"Thanks for the ride!" Emmett boomed as he scurried over towards the Aston Martin.

"Thanks for letting us borrow the truck." Edward answered, watching him. "We shouldn't be too long. I'll call you when we're finished."

"Take your time, dude! I'm going to enjoy having my hands on this baby!" He responded as he flung open the door to probably Edward's most precious vehicle.

We watched as Emmett stuffed his massive body into the car and shut the door, revving up the engine right away. Edward sighed loudly, prompting me to look over at him questioningly.

"I must be crazy for letting him take that car." He explained, watching warily.

"Oh, relax. It's not like you don't have money to fix it if he wrecks it."

"I suppose."

"Come on, let's go. We're blocking his way out and I'm sure he's itching to get that thing on the road."

.

.

.

.

"Really?" Edward asked as we entered my tiny apartment.

After Italy and spending the night at Edward's house, this place _really_ felt like a shithole.

"You said that everything was packed up and you just needed to move it. Nothing is packed. There is stuff everywhere…"

"Well, there's a box packed up over there…" I answered timidly, chewing on my finger nail.

"One box. Halfway packed. That constitutes being ready to move to you?"

"Okay, I may have exaggerated my progress just a tiny bit." I sighed.

"Do you even have boxes to pack in?"

"Yeah, they're in the bedroom."

I kicked off my shoes while Edward left his on, probably to avoid the 'filth' of such low-class living. _Sigh._

"Alright, well let's start throwing this shit in boxes. This is going to take all day."

"It's not shit, Edward. It's my stuff…"

"Where is the bedroom?"

I rolled my eyes.

"It's the only other room that we're not currently standing in."

He gave me a pointed look before walking away, venturing down the barely existent hallway that led to my room. I followed behind him until he stopped in the doorway.

"Jesus Christ, Isabella…"

"What?" I asked innocently.

It wasn't _that_ much stuff.

But it really was.

He probably thought I was some kind of hoarder or something.

"Have you never gotten rid of anything in your life? There is barely room to even walk in here."

Okay, _that _was an exaggeration.

But not really.

"Fuck, Edward. Calm down. This isn't hoarders. It's not like you're going to find an old cat skeleton in here…probably just a few used tampons."

He gave me a horrified look.

"I'm fucking Joking!" I told him as I shoved his arm. "Now help me pack this stuff up."

"Oh, sure, it's only going to take the entirety of a week…"

"Hey, I said I would do it myself. You're the one who insisted on coming."

I didn't really have anything particularly valuable or breakable, so I instructed him to just throw everything in boxes and cram as much as he could into them. He worked a bit slower, seeming to have some sort of concern for the care of my belongings, while I just starting shoving shit wherever it would fit. We worked in silence for the most part, with the exception of him asking me a few times if I wanted certain things wrapped in newspaper or packed with particular other things.

I did intend to do it all myself, so I couldn't deny that it was nice to have the help. Having an extra set of hands made things go twice as fast, which was nice. I hadn't exactly been looking forward to packing everything up, which was precisely why I had procrastinated so long. Surprisingly, it didn't even feel like we had been there for that long by the time I had the closet completely packed, which was the part I'd been dreading the most. Edward decided to start taking those boxes down to clear out some space while I embarked on packing up my bookshelf. I'd packed all of my DVDs and was half way done with my books when he'd finished with them.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" He asked with a sigh upon returning.

"Why, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me!" I beamed up at him, pulling an amused smile from his lips.

"Don't expect to hear that often."

"Hmm…" I responded as I glanced around the room. "I should probably do the desk myself. Most of the papers in it just need to be thrown away. I guess you can pack up the nightstand. It should just be mostly lotion and medicine and crap."

"I'm not going to find any condoms and lube in there, am I?"

I suddenly blushed, remembering Alejandro in the bottom drawer.

"Um…here, I'll do the nightstand and you can finish the bookcase."

"So there _are_ condoms and lube in there?" He asked with an amused grin.

"No, there are _not_ condoms and lube in there…"

I stood up and moved towards the nightstand, attempting to shove him out of the way. He didn't budge. He was too tall and I was too small.

"Then what do you not want me to see?"

"Why does it fucking matter? It's my house. Just get out of my way."

"Technically, I'm the one paying the remainder of the rent here. Therefore, it would really be _my _apartment."

"I don't give a fuck. It's my stuff. Now get out of my way." I answered, shoving him again. This time, I used more force and he stumbled back slightly but not enough.

"This doesn't bother me." He laughed. "I like it when you're rough."

"You haven't even seen me rough yet." I answered, knowing he was referring to activity in the bedroom.

"Oh yeah? Wanna show me then?" He asked with that cocky smirk that annoyed the shit out of me and made my panties wet at the same time.

"Fuck you."

"Now? Or did you want to wait until we get home?"

I rolled my eyes, shoving him again weakly. There was no point in putting in real effort. I knew it wasn't any use. Motherfucker was like six foot three and woke up at five AM every day to work out. I was a hundred and ten pounds and couldn't even do a real push up.

"Let's see what's in drawer number one, shall we?" He asked happily as he turned around towards the nightstand.

"Stop it, fuckwad."

He opened it without hesitation and gently began pilfering through its contents curiously. It was a bunch of crap, mostly chapstick and other old cosmetic items like almost empty containers of moisturizer. There actually was some lube, but it was in a tiny little tube in the back and he didn't even see it. Idiot.

"Hmm, maybe we'll have better luck with drawer number two then."

I rolled my eyes.

"Jesus Christ, just get on with it! Drawer number three, okay? It's my fucking vibrator."

Sure enough, he skipped right over drawer number two and flung open number three, revealing my big, pink vibrating friend. I sighed.

"Oh, this is great…" He chuckled, sitting down in front of the nightstand and leaning back against the bed as he reached for it.

"Oh my God, don't touch it!" I screeched as I scrambled over his lap to get to the drawer. "That's been in my fucking pussy!"

He laughed louder as he stopped me and pulled me down onto his lap, preventing my hands from reaching.

"So have my fingers. What's the difference?" He asked as he snatched it up.

I watched, horrified, as he switched it on and Alejandro woke up to start halfheartedly vibrating in my husband's grasp.

"It's kind of…weak." He commented, unimpressed.

"...it needs new batteries." I explained, knowing just how hard that little fella used to work for me.

"Oh yeah? You wore these out already?" He asked, clearly tickled with this whole situation.

"Okay, enough fucking around. We're supposed to be packing."

"We can fuck around if we want to. Do you have new batteries?"

"No." I lied.

I was so not in the mood to sit there and use my vibrator in front of Edward, or whatever the hell else he had in mind…

"That's too bad." He frowned, turning the pink toy in his hand as he looked at it thoughtfully. It was still vibrating. "I have some out the house."

"That's great…" I answered, snatching it out of his hand and quickly flicking it off as I stood up off of his lap.

"Would you use it for me? Let me watch?" He asked.

I turned my back to him as I blushed harder, finding a trash bag and wrapping the toy in it before packing it away in a box.

"I don't know…" I answered meekly.

"Would you let me use it on you?"

I don't know why, because I was a very sexually open person, but talking about this so freely with Edward made me…_bashful_ for some reason.

"I don't know, Edward." I sighed, willing the blush away from my cheeks. "Can we just focus on packing?"

He simply chuckled, grabbing an empty box and beginning to pack away the remaining contents of the nightstand.

"Is this you?" He suddenly asked.

I turned from the bookcase to see him holding a picture. I couldn't see it from where I stood, but I knew what it was regardless.

"Yeah, that's me and my Grandma when I was younger."

"You keep a picture of your Grandmother next to your vibrator?"

I laughed genuinely, turning back to my task of packing books.

"I'd never really thought about."

"You were a very cute child."

"Thanks."

We fell into another silent rhythm as we continued packing. I was almost finished with the contents of my desk when Edward spoke again.

"I thought you said you don't play any instruments."

I turned to see him standing in front of my guitar in the corner. He'd apparently removed the sheet that had been covering it.

"I don't." I answered dismissively, turning back towards the box in front of me.

"Then why do you have it?"

"I said that I don't play, not that I never did."

"Where did you get it? This is a classic Gibson. It's probably worth a decent amount of money."

I already knew that.

"Really? Maybe I should sell it then."

"Why did you stop playing? Are you good?"

"I guess I was okay." I answered with a shrug.

"Why did you stop?" He repeated.

I turned back to look at the instrument again and sighed.

"It reminds me of someone I don't care to remember."

He was quiet, a thoughtful expression on his face. I turned back to the desk and continued shoving stuff into the box. It was a few moments before Edward spoke again.

"I know that feeling."

"Can you start taking some more of these boxes down to the truck for me? It's starting to get kind of crowded in here."

"Sure."

And thankfully, that was all that was said about the guitar for now.

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.

Later on that day, I was reminded that there were more aspects of our agreement to be upheld now that we were back home. For example, I was expected to have dinner with Edward every night unless otherwise agreed upon. So, not wanting to screw up the first day home, I made sure to be seated in the dining room at six thirty on the dot just as Edward had told me to. In truth, I didn't really mind. Not as long as Cecilia was cooking the meal. If dinner was half as good as the breakfast she had made me, I'd be there at two O'clock in the damn morning if they told me to.

I slid into the seat across the table from Edward, where my place setting was. My hair was still wet from the much needed shower after moving. Edward had showered before me, so he was dry and perfectly poised looking, fully dressed. I momentarily felt bad for showing up in practically my pajamas. Had he been expecting me to show up all put together as well?

He smiled at me from across the table, looking amused.

"What?" I snapped defensively.

"Wine?" He offered, gesturing to the open bottle on the table.

My mood softened at the mention of alcohol.

"Yes, please,"

He nodded and reached for the bottle, pouring a hefty amount into the empty glass in front of me. Then he placed the bottle down and lifted his own glass into the air.

"Cheers to a lovely honeymoon and a lovely first meal together as husband and wife in our home,"

"Yeah…cheers…," I answered.

…_weirdo._

He took a sip and I took a gulp before we both placed our glasses back down. As if on cue, Cecilia then appeared through the door adjoining the kitchen with two plates loaded with food. It smelled like Heaven…in food form?

"Here we go! Fresh off the stove!" She announced cheerfully as she first placed my plate down and then Edward's.

"Thank you Cecilia, this looks wonderful." He said gratefully.

"…this looks more than wonderful." I added.

In truth, part of me felt a little guilty. It felt incredibly pretentious to be sitting there having someone wait on us when we were perfectly capable of making ourselves dinner. It may not be as good, but I'd proudly mastered the art of peanut butter and jelly. It didn't feel right acting like we were too good for that and making Cecilia cook for us. However, I tried to remind myself that this was her job. She was being paid and making a living. It wasn't as if she was a slave. And if she did feel degraded, she could always quit.

She left us quickly, and I wasted no time digging into the spread of steak, loaded mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. I moaned loudly as I took in the first bite, making Edward laugh.

"Good?" he asked.

"Good? More like orgasm in my mouth…"

He nodded with a grin as he swallowed his first bite.

"She's an amazing cook, and she can make almost anything." He explained. "I requested something filling tonight. I figured we work up an appetite packing."

"I did, that's for sure. I'm starving…"

The first half of our meal, we barely spoke, both of us pretty ravenous. It wasn't until I started to get full that I started to slow down and really savor each bite and each sip of wine.

"So, what are your plans this evening?" He asked, disrupting the silence.

"Um, I don't know. I was supposed to hang out with my friend Holly tonight but I'm pretty tired so I'm not sure if we'll do anything or not."

"Holly? Have I met her?"

"Yeah, at the wedding."

"Hmm. The name sounds familiar, but I don't remember the face. I meet a lot of people."

"Well, would you care if I invited her over here? Maybe we'll just swim for a while or something."

"No, I don't mind. This is your home now, too. I want you to feel comfortable here."

"Okay, cool." I nodded, shoveling in a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "What will you be doing tonight?" I asked after I swallowed.

He shrugged, cutting a piece of steak and popping it in his mouth. "I'll probably have an early night. I'll just be here in my office getting some work done."

"You work a lot." I observed.

"I do. And that work ethic is what has afforded me this kind of lifestyle."

I looked around the lavish dining room we were in, nodding as I took a sip of my wine. Edward had accomplished so much at such a young age. He really should be proud of himself.

"I want to build this for myself someday…the way that you have."

He smiled at me warmly, sipping on his wine.

"It's hard work, but I believe wholeheartedly that you're more than capable."

I laughed, shaking my head.

"But I wouldn't even know how to start building the kind of empire that you have…"

"Think of the kind of empire that we could have together."

"Together?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He smirked, nodding before another sip of wine.

"I could groom you into my own little business mogul. We could do great things, you and I. You told me once that you want to start your own business."

"Yeah, I'm a dreamer."

"No, that's the difference between us and everyone else. We're not dreamers, we're doers."

"You think so?" I asked, imagining what it would be like to have my own business…or businesses like Edward.

"I know so. Just wait. Once we get you through school, you're going to accomplish amazing things, Isabella. You have all of the resources you could ever ask for at your fingertips."

I smiled widely, draining the rest of my wine.

.

.

.

.

I stood in the kitchen, not really sure what to do with myself. Cecilia was gone by this time, and Edward was off slaving away in his office. Cecilia had done all of the cleaning from dinner before she left, so I couldn't even busy myself with that while I waited for Holly to arrive. Instead, I settled for snooping through Edward's refrigerator and pantry. Well, technically, I suppose it wasn't snooping at all. It wasn't just Edward's kitchen anymore, it was mine as well.

The refrigerator sucked, consisting mostly of healthy food, fresh fruit, and vegetables. I was becoming disappointed in the culinary offerings of our home, but found refuge in the pantry. Among average dry foods like soup and cereal, there was one shelf seemingly dedicated to junk food. It housed chips, cookies, and all sorts of random snacks. I immediately knew that would be my go-to stash, at least until I could manage to squeeze my input onto the grocery list.

I was relieved when the doorbell rang, happy that I wouldn't have to find another stupid way to entertain myself. I bolted out of the kitchen and rushed to the entry way, pulling at the gigantic wooden door that took some damn effort to open.

"Hey, gurrrl," Holly greeted as she appeared to me.

"I have Tequila."

"Yes! Tequila _and _a pool! You fucking rock."

"I know." I answered with a smartass smile. "Come in," I said, moving out of the way.

"So, um, why haven't you ever told me that you live in a fucking _mansion_?"

"Well, technically, I didn't really live here until yesterday."

"You know what I mean, smartass."

I shrugged.

"You knew my fiancé had money."

"This isn't just money, dude. This is like…fucking royalty level."

"Did you bring your swimsuit?" I asked, looking for a subject change.

"Yeah, I already have it on under my clothes."

"Okay, well I've got to change. I'll be right back. Back door is that way if you want to just meet me outside." I told her, pointing in the direction of the backyard.

"Okay, cool," She answered before I hurried upstairs to change.

I had to dig through some boxes in the closet that I shared with Edward before I finally found my favorite black bikini. I threw it on quickly and hurried back downstairs to meet Holly outside, but I found her standing in the living room before I could get there.

"Sorry," She said when she saw me. "I know you said you'd meet me outside, but I just wanted to see some more of this crazy house first."

"Oh, it's cool."

I walked up beside her where she was standing, gazing at a vast array of pictures displayed on a tall shelf. I'd been in the room before, of course, but I realized then that I'd never really taken the time to look at any of the pictures. Most of them I recognized as Edward's family. One in particular intrigued me. It was Edward and Alice, looking notably younger, in what seemed to be a hospital room. There was a tiny Christmas tree on top of a table behind them, where they were seated on a bed. Alice appeared to be the patient, and I wondered what for. I made a mental note to ask Edward about it later.

"Who are those random little brown kids?" Holly asked, pointing to a particular frame.

I followed her direction to a picture of three children that I didn't recognize. They clearly weren't related to Edward, because they appeared to be Hispanic.

"Um, I'm not entirely sure. I think they're the kids of a friend of my husband's family." I answered, making something up.

_Another thing to ask Edward about._

"Oh, cool," She answered, turning to me. "Damn Swan, who knew you were packing that much heat under your regular clothes?"

"Huh?" I asked, looking down.

"Your titties aren't so itty bitty after all."

"Oh, yeah," I answered, cupping them absentmindedly. "Well, they're still not as big as yours." I added.

She had to _at least_ be a D cup, maybe even a double D.

"Yeah, but mine aren't real."

"No shit?" I asked, surprised. "I don't think I've ever known anyone with fake tits before."

"Really? Feel them. You can totally tell the difference."

I didn't hesitate to reach out and cop a feel of her rack, never one to be shy about that kind of thing. Indeed, you really could tell the difference. I'd never felt fake boobs before, but they were definitely harder. They didn't have that give and suppleness to them like real breasts had.

A throat cleared somewhere beside me. I whipped my head around, startled, and found Edward standing there staring at me. His facial expression seemed to be settled somewhere between amused and confused.

"Hi…" I said meekly.

"Hi." He answered, his eyes shifting to glance at my hands still planted firmly on Holly's breasts before moving back to me as he raised a questioning eyebrow.

I dropped my hands and turned to face him more directly.

"I thought you were working."

"I was. I am. I came to refill my glass of wine and I heard you talking in here so I thought I should come and say hello to your guest."

"Right…," I responded, laughing awkwardly. "Uh, Holly, you remember my husband?"

"Of course, Edward, right?" She answered, cool as a cucumber.

"Right." He answered. "And Holly, I believe it was?"

I knew he didn't actually remember her. He only knew her name because I said it earlier. However, I knew she would believe that he did. Everything he said always had a way of coming out charming and intriguing.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner." She answered with a bright and alluring smile.

He flashed her back that charming smirk of his.

"Hey, what's up with this picture of you and Alice?" I asked, disrupting the charm-fest going on in front of me. "Is that at a hospital? Was she sick?"

"Oh, that's when Alice was in high school." He answered, as if that should explain everything.

"…and?" I responded, not sure what that had to do with anything.

"You know, when she had all of those…problems…?" He said, as if what he was getting at should be obvious.

"Problems?" I asked, shaking my head slowly with obvious confusion.

He frowned.

"You don't know about any of that?"

"Any of what?"

His eyes shifted back to Holly, who was watching us curiously.

"We'll talk about it later." He answered, looking at me again. "You should be entertaining your guest. She seems to be the one entertaining you…" He said suggestively.

Holly giggled and I noticed Edward's eyes flicker down to her breasts, making it clear he was referring to what he had just walked in on. I felt a strange warming sensation when I noticed him looking at her chest. It definitely wasn't jealousy, but I wasn't entirely sure what to call it.

"I'll meet you out there, Holl. I'm gonna grab the Tequila." I told her.

"Mk, see you outside. Will you be joining us, Edward?"

"No. I wish I could, but I still have some work to catch up on from being away on our Honeymoon. I'll leave you ladies to it."

"That's too bad. It was nice to see you." Holly answered politely, not waiting for a response before crossing the room and slipping out the back door.

"I didn't know that you were having a friend over for _that _type play date, Isabella." Edward teased as we both made our way into the kitchen.

"Oh, shut up," I answered, rolling my eyes. "She told me to feel them."

"Oh, did she?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

"It's not like that!" I said defensively. "They're not real and I wanted to feel the difference."

"They're not real? Really? They looked pretty real to me…"

"Yeah, they look like it. But they don't feel like it."

"Well, she has great breasts regardless."

Was he trying to make me jealous? Or was he really just commenting on them?

"Yeah, she does." I answered, wanting to rule out the prospect of me being jealous just in case.

"But I prefer the real thing."

I nodded.

"Good to know."

Edward quickly refilled his wine glass and then as he walked by where I stood reaching up into a cabinet for some shot glasses, he squeezed my ass.

"Have a good time," He said, his voice possibly laced with a suggestive undertone.

Maybe I was just imagining it.

"I will."

On my way to the backyard, I paused in the living room to turn on the sound system and set it to play on the outside speakers. It was set up with Sirius radio, so I used the guide to find a station that played classic rap and R&B hits. It wasn't usually my cup of tea, but I was in a rare mood to listen to it. Maybe I was just in the mood to party.

Outside, Holly was already in the pool, her clothes in a pile on one of the lounge chairs. I laughed when _Ignition Remix _by _R Kelly _began playing over the speakers. What a classic example of a stupid song that is annoyingly catchy as hell. I walked to the edge of the pool and put the Tequila and two shot glasses down before jumping right in. The cool water was some awesome relief from the muggy air, the contrast electrifying.

"What the hell are we listening to?" Holly asked with a giggle as I broke the surface of the water.

"This song it catchy as hell and you know it. I was in the mood for fun music."

She swam over to the edge, going straight for the alcohol. I liked her style.

"Shots!" She cheered happily as she went to pour them.

I watched, shivering slightly as I tried to adjust to the cold water.

"Mm, I love Tequila…" I said longingly as she handed me my shot glass.

So we took a shot, and another shot, and another…and about five more. It was a blast getting tipsy as we swam around and listened to old rap songs that I forgot about like _Overnight Celebrity_ by _Twista_, _Lean Back_ by _Fat Joe_, and _Fantasy_ by _Ludacris_. I was having so much fun, I was definitely glad that I decided to invite her over instead of just going to bed. I was really enjoying this new friendship and, sadly, I honestly couldn't remember the last time I'd had that much fun with Alice. Holly just had a way of making me feel so carefree and comfortable being myself. I let loose with her. It was quickly becoming one of those friendships where you feel so relaxed with the person that even when you feel like being alone you can still be around them.

"Oh, shiiit," I drawled drunkenly when _Yeah! _By _Usher_ came on. "I used to loovee this fucking song!"

"Fuck yes!" She agreed, both of us giggling for no reason.

"This song always makes me wish that I could pop my ass like those girls in rap videos."

"Girl, I could teach you!"

"You know how?" I asked giddily.

"Yeah! I almost became a stripper, and then I didn't. But when I thought I was gonna do it, my cousin taught me how to dance like that!"

"Show me!"

She climbed out of the pool and giggled her way over to a column at the edge of the covered patio, bracing her hands against it as she proceeded to start shaking and popping her ass, well…like a stripper. I laughed loudly, amused and intrigued by her hidden talent.

"You have to teach me!" I squealed as I climbed out of the pool, stumbling slightly towards her.

"Come here, come here," She said enthusiastically, ushering me to the grassy area in front of us. "You have to think of your ass as a whole separate body part. Move just your lower body, and pop your ass to the beat of the music. Try it."

I listened to the music, and genuinely tried, but I fell over. Thank goodness she had moved me to the grass to try it.

"Uh…I think I'm a little too drunk for this right now. This might be a sober activity."

Suddenly she gasped, clapping her hands together as if she had just had the best idea ever.

"I have the best idea ever!"

…_creepy._

"What?" I asked, smiling up at her, still sitting on the ground.

"Let's get high…!" She whispered, as if the damn FBI was listening.

"What?"

"Let's smoke some pot!"

Now, it wasn't as if I was naïve to what she was suggesting. I wasn't exactly a complete stranger to marijuana. That's just not something I had expected her to say. We'd never smoked weed together. In fact, we'd never even talked about it before then.

"Do you…have some?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"I have some in my car!"

I mulled over the idea in my head. If I was sober, I would have said no. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have rationalized that this still didn't feel like my home, even if it technically was. I wouldn't have wanted to disrespect Edward like that. But alas, I wasn't sober, and I definitely wasn't thinking rationally.

"Okay," I grinned.

"Really?"

"Yeah, let's go get it."

"Yay!"

I somehow had enough clarity left in me to at least think to dry off before walking through the house. At least, we were mostly dry.

Our drunken trek through the house felt like a fucking expedition.

"This house is too fucking big!" I yelled, being loud for absolutely no reason.

Why _are _drunk people always loud?

"Don't complain! You get to live here!" Holly answered.

We giggled, hollered, and obnoxiously made our way from the back door to the front. Edward entered the entry way at the same time we did, seemingly having come from the hallway that led to his office.

I'd totally forgotten he was even there.

"Hi, husband!" I squealed happily.

I would have expected Edward to be annoyed and maybe even mad that we were so obnoxiously drunk, but that didn't seem to be the case. He just smirked at me, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Hello, wife. You seem to be having…quite a good time."

"I'm sorry we're walking through the house wet." I said, looking at the floor behind us. "I hope we didn't leave footprints…"

He grinned at me, his eyes sliding down and then back up my body.

"You don't ever have to apologize to me for being wet, Isabella."

Holly laughed loudly and I gasped. Even drunk, I was surprised that Edward would say such a thing in front of my friend. He was always so poised and collected in front of people. Why was he different around her?

"Besides," He continued. "It's just tile. It will be fine."

"See? I told you we were dry enough." Holly giggled.

"Were you going somewhere?" Edward asked with an amused expression, eyeing us and then the front door.

"We have to get something out of Holly's car. We'll be right back." I said with a grin, like I was hiding a dirty secret.

"I'll walk you out. It's late and you're both drunk. You don't need to be out in the street alone."

"You parked all the way in the street?" I complained, whipping my head towards Holly. "Did you see how long this driveway is?"

"I didn't want to block anybody in!"

"Alright, Alright," I said with a dramatic sigh. "Let's go…"

Edward watched us with an amused and unbothered smile the whole time as we happily made our way out the front door and down the driveway.

"Holly, look!" I squealed, running up to the Aston Martin.

I stupidly tried to reenact her dance moves, dancing up against the car.

"It's like in the rap videos!"

"See!" She called back. "You said you couldn't do it, but that's not half bad!"

"Okay, okay, hands off the car." Edward scolded when he felt I'd gotten close enough.

"You're such a boring old man…" I pouted, continuing on with our march down the driveway.

When we got to the street, Edward stood back at the curb and watched as Holly and I approached the car.

"How are we going to get it into the house?" She whispered to me. "Will he be mad if sees it?"

"I don't know, smuggle it in your top or something…"

"Go distract him."

I nodded and turned back around, making my way back over to my new husband.

"Hi, Edward." I drawled as I approached him.

"Hi, Isabella." He answered, eyeing me almost suspiciously.

"I'm a little drunk." I stated simply, not knowing what else to talk about to distract him.

"I noticed. So is your friend. I don't think we should let her drive herself home. I can call for a car if I need to."

"Or she could stay?"

"If she wants to. The guest rooms should be all made up."

"Cool."

"Got it!" Holly called, provoking us both to look over at her.

She was holding a small cosmetic bag, which I presumed contained the goods.

We were all quiet on the way back up to the house, and I was feeling excited. I used to smoke pot a lot in high school, but at this point, I considered it more of a rare treat. It kind of made it more fun that way, anyway. We ditched Edward at the front door, scurrying back off to the backyard to enjoy ourselves and ignite a brand new buzz on top of the one we already had.

"It's already rolled?" I asked, impressed as Holly pulled a joint and a lighter out of the bag.

"Yup. We're good to go."

We settled down across the comfy lounge chairs, oldie-but-goodie rap songs still playing over the speakers. I watched as she hit it first, then took it as she passed it to me.

"I haven't been high in a long time…" I commented as I took a hit.

I tried to hold it all in but, being slightly out of practice, I coughed just a little. I didn't take it nearly as smooth as Holly did.

"Then you're gonna get a _real_ good buzz." She answered as I passed the joint back. "This is good shit."

The next time she passed it, I coughed even less. On my third hit, I didn't cough at all.

_Like riding a bike…_

"You feel it yet?"

"…yeah." I smiled.

"You're high?"

"Lil' bit…"

She grinned at me and took another hit.

Then, I heard the creaking sound of the back door opening.

"Oh, fuck…" She whispered, passing the joint to me.

I don't even know why I took it. What the fuck was I supposed to do with it?

"Isabella…?" Edward asked.

"Shit…" I whispered to myself, panicked.

I didn't even have any time to _try_ to think of what to do. In seconds, Edward was standing right there next to our lounge chairs. All I could do was hold my hand down at my side furthest from him and hope that the joint was out of view.

"Are you…smoking…"

His sentence trailed off as something distracted him just to the side of me. I followed his eyes and noticed a trail of smoke wafting around in the air…leading right down to my hand as the source. I looked back over at Edward and mashed my lips together, trying not to laugh.

_Why the hell did I want to laugh_?

This was so not funny.

But oh, it was.

I burst out giggling for absolutely _no_ logical reason. But the whole thing was quite ridiculous. I felt like I'd just been busted by my mom or something.

"Are you mad?" I asked through my laughter.

Edward looked away from my hand, his eyes finding mine.

"I came out to say that I'm going to bed." He answered calmly.

Was he not going to acknowledge the situation at all?

_Cool._

"…okay." I answered, gazing up at him with glassy eyes.

"Make sure your friend doesn't drive?" He requested, glancing over at Holly who was also gazing at him.

"…okay."

"And be careful out here."

"…okay."

"Oh, and lock the doors when you come in."

"…okay."

Then, placing one knee between my outstretched legs on the lounge chair, he leaned over and wrapped his hand around my wrist. He pulled it up to expose the joint and, shocking the hell out of me, he brought my hand up to his own mouth and actually took a hit. He sucked in, holding in smoke as he pulled my hand away, and leaned down to press his lips insistently to mine. Then, with an exhale, he blew the smoke right into my mouth before kissing me fervently. I inhaled instinctively before kissing him back, feeling the smoke fill my lungs. I exhaled through my nose, blowing smoke right into his face, but he didn't seem to mind.

Then, without another word, he turned and went back inside.

"…that was one of the hottest thing I've ever seen." Holly said softly after a few moments.

"…that was one of the hottest thing I've ever felt." I answered.

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.

.

I awoke in the morning feeling like big, nasty butthole. Not to mention, it took me a good while to figure out where the fuck I was. I wasn't even used to sleeping in Edward's house yet, so it took me a bit to realize that for some reason I was in the guest bedroom. I rolled over thinking that I might find Holly beside me, but there was nobody. I was alone, hung over…and still in my bikini.

"Fuck me…" I muttered to myself, head pounding as I sat up.

The digital clock on the small table next to the bed revealed that it was precisely six minutes past five in the morning. Next to it, though I didn't remember putting it there, was my phone. I picked it up to see that I had a text from Holly.

_Didn't want to wake u. I let myself out. Had fun! XX_

The time on the message read just slightly before four thirty, so it seemed that she hadn't been gone that long. I groaned and crawled off of the bed, phone in hand, to leave the darkened room and trek down the long hallway towards the room I shared with Edward. I tried to be quiet as I pushed the large wooden doors open, thinking he would still be asleep, but he wasn't. The bed was unmade, but empty, and I could see that the light was on in the bathroom. That thought made me realize that I needed to pee, so with eyes half open, a shuffled my way towards the light.

"Well, well, well," Edward said with a chuckle. "Look who it is. Good morning, Isabella. Or have you even slept yet?"

He was rinsing his toothbrush, seemingly just having brushed his teeth. I turned to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and it was scary. I looked like shit. My hair was knotted and my face was puffy.

"Yes, I slept…" I sighed, my voice hoarse. "What the hell are you doing up so early?"

"I always wake up this early. I'm going to work out and then I'm going into the office."

"I really have to pee…" I groaned, making my way into the toilet area and shutting the door behind me.

I peed the longest I had in a very long time. It felt fucking fantastic. When I returned to the main area of the bathroom, Edward had begun shaving.

"So," I began as I went to sit down on the edge of the massive Jacuzzi tub, facing him. "Are you mad at me?"

"What would I be mad at you for?"

"Uh…for getting drunk and being obnoxious and smoking weed?"

"You're an adult, Isabella. You can make your own decisions in that regard. Though, I will say I didn't know you were such a partier. I hope it's not something you make a habit of doing too often."

"I'm really _not _a partier though, honestly. Last night was…not something I do all the time."

"Well, good. I'm glad. And no, I'm not upset with you. It was kind of humorous to see you so drunk, as long as it doesn't happen often. I'm sure it would begin to irritate me after a while."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about that."

"Did your friend stay over?"

"Yeah, we both slept in the guest room."

"Together?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at me in the mirror.

I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, together."

"Did you feel her up again?"

"Okay, really…"

"I'm joking," He chuckled, continuing to meticulously shave his face. "Relax."

"I _really _need a shower. I smell like Tequila and chlorine."

"…and a touch of marijuana." He added.

"Speaking of which, I _definitely _wasn't expecting you to take a hit. I thought you'd be mad at me for having it."

"You seem to have me pegged as such a prude old man."

"Yeah, I do, actually…"

He laughed.

"Well, that's not me."

"Savvy business men such as yourself don't normally make nice with the Mary Jane…"

"No, but I'm my own boss. And I don't plan on drug testing myself anytime soon."

"So do you, like, smoke…on the reg?"

He laughed again, shaking his head at me.

"No, not since I was in high school."

"So that was a one time thing?"

"Yes. It's not like I had enough to actually get high. I was simply proving a point to you that I'm not the boring old stiff that you treat me as."

"Well, point taken. I was impressed."

"Thank you." He smirked.

"So do you…do other drugs?"

"No." He frowned. "…do you?"

"No." I answered, shaking my head. "I mean, I've experimented with a few things here and there. But I don't do anything on a regular basis…"

"Good. Nothing positive ever comes from drug use."

"Yeah. So, do you want me to wait until you're done to shower?"

"You don't have to. I don't mind. You're the one getting naked, so it's your call."

I _really_ wanted a shower, so I quickly decided I didn't care. It wasn't anything he hadn't already seen, after all. So, I stood up and turned my back to him before reaching up to unfasten my top and let it drop to the floor. Next I shimmied out of my bottoms, realizing then that it was rather cold in the bathroom. I scurried over to the shower quickly and cranked on the hot water, glancing over at Edward while I waited for it to heat up. He was staring at me in the mirror, unashamed and not bothering to look away when our eyes met.

"Don't forget we have dinner with Marcus and Heidi this evening."

"Yeah, I know."

"I should be home around five. I wouldn't advise getting ready before then."

"Why not?" I asked, feeling my eyebrows pull together.

"Because I'm going to want to fuck you first."

I felt my cheeks turn hot, but I tried to remain composed and show no other reaction. I wanted to keep my cool.

"Okay." I answered simply as I stepped into the shower and closed the glass door.

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**Please, as I've said before, keep in mind that although some things may seem irrelevant to the story when you're reading…it is all relevant. It will ALL be relevant when everything is tied up at the end, which is why I discourage skimming. Even the little things (nudge) will matter.**

**I will never be able to say it enough, **_**THANK YOU**_** for your continued support and encouragement. I promised you all a long time ago that my stories would be finished, and I've never once intended any differently. **

**Follow me on Twitter, so we can chat If you have questions or concerns about the story or want to reach me for whatever reason, that it is the quickest and most effective way to get to me. Twitter name = JennaRayFF**

**Thanks! It feels good to be back!**

**Jenn**


	15. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Character names nor do I own Twilight or anything pertaining to it. **

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"Ugh, fuck this…" I mumbled, raking my fingers through my styled hair.

I was seated at the dining room table, my math textbook and notebook placed in front of me. I was studying for an upcoming test; one that I seemed doomed to fail. It was six forty five…and Edward was officially late for dinner. Beside me, our place settings were set up as they always were. I didn't mind waiting, though. I had to study at some point anyway, so at least I had something to occupy myself until he arrived. I was never picky about what time we ate, anyway. Edward was always the one to be particular about that.

"Still having trouble?"

I glanced up as Cecilia emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel as she gave me a sympathetic look.

"Yeah…," I sighed. "I swear math was invented by the devil himself."

"Ah, my poor girl…," She sighed as she came over to stroke the back of my hair comfortingly. "I'm sure it will come to you. You are so bright."

Her accent was just as thick as ever, but I was used to it by now.

"Thanks, Cici" I answered with a discouraged pout, using the nickname I'd proudly bestowed upon her.

By this point, Edward and I had been married just over three months. And to be honest, I probably spent more time around Cecilia than I did him. Okay, realistically, probably not. But still, I had spent a lot of time around her and we had grown pretty tight. It was only to be expected. Seeing as though all I did now was go to school, I was always home in the afternoons and evenings when she was around. I remembered Edward once telling me that he felt like she was a mother to him, and now I totally understood why. Her personality made it easy to fall into that type of relationship with her, and the same thing had happened to me.

"You want some more wine?" She offered, gesturing to my empty glass.

"No, I shouldn't," I sighed. "I need a clear head if I'm ever going to figure these problems out."

"You want to eat now? Or are you still waiting?"

"Nah, I'll just wait. I'm not starving, and I'm sure Edward will get his feelings all hurt if I eat without him."

She giggled, making me smile. She always laughed like that at my little jokes about Edward, because she knew they were all totally true.

"You want something else to drink then?"

"Mm…" I hummed thoughtfully. "Do we have diet coke?"

"Mhmm" She answered.

"I'll have that, please."

"Alright," She responded before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Thankfully, I was finally able to get over my discomfort at asking her for things or letting her do things for me. It _was _her job, but aside from that, I could just tell that she genuinely didn't mind it. She didn't hate her job. It was clear that she really did enjoy caring for Edward and I. She just had those motherly tendencies, and she'd told us on more than one occasion that we were like her children. Well…her other children, at least. I'd learned not long after my wedding that she had three sons, whom were later identified as the mystery children in the picture in the living room. Apparently Edward had paid for them to go to football camp over the summer, and that picture of them in their uniforms was a sort of 'thank you' gesture. I was glad he had displayed it. It probably made Cecilia feel good.

I was relieved when I heard the front door open. I could really use a break from studying, and dinner was a welcome distraction. Cecilia had told me that morning she was making spaghetti and meatballs, and my stomach had been set on it all day.

"Hey…," Edward sighed as he entered the dining room. "I'm sorry I'm late. I got caught up on a conference call at the office."

He came up beside my chair and leaned over to kiss my cheek. I kissed his in return. It had become our customary greeting by that point, but it really felt like more of a friendly thing; sort of like the way housewives would greet each other with kisses on the cheek in snobbish places like Beverly Hills.

It's true. I saw it on T.V.

"It's okay, I was distracted studying anyway."

"I see that. What are you working on?"

"That stupid math class that has been kicking my ass. School started barely a month ago and I'm already trying to keep my head above water in that damn class."

"You have an exam coming up?"

"Yeah. Thank goodness all of my other classes are relatively easy so I can spend more time on this one."

"When is the test?"

"Tomorrow…" I sighed.

Cecilia returned then and came over to set my glass of diet coke in front of me while Edward took off his suit Jacket and went to drape it over the back of the vacant seat at the head of the table.

"Good evening, Cecilia," He greeted, smiling at her.

"You're late!" She scolded playfully, pointing a finger at him.

"I know, I know. I got caught up at work. I'm sorry."

"You're lucky I made pasta. I was able to keep it going on low so it would still be hot."

"Thank you. I'm hoping by pasta you mean that you made your amazing spaghetti and meatballs…"

I smiled as Cecilia nodded and Edward hummed his appreciation at the evenings' menu. She disappeared back into the kitchen again, presumably to get our food.

"Too bad you weren't just a few minutes later." I said as I closed my textbook. "She said that if you weren't here by seven she was going to give me your meatballs."

He laughed as he went to take his usual seat on the other side of the table. I stood up to scoot down to the next seat over, where my place setting was.

"You can have my meatballs whenever you want, Isabella." He smirked.

I laughed and shook my head, throwing a nearby stray sliver of paper at him.

"You're such a perv…"

Our marriage had undeniably started off a little…awkward, considering we barely knew each other. However, after three months, I was _so_ much more comfortable around him. We'd already found the balance of our arrangement, and it worked for us. I never really felt uncomfortable around him anymore. Three months isn't exactly a long time, but it was at least enough for me to learn a lot more about him and adjust to his personality. It didn't take nearly as long to figure him out as I thought it would. In a way, we'd become pretty good friends. Well, friends who had sex, but that felt like a whole separate aspect of the deal.

Edward and I were basically friends with benefits, just as he'd said we would be. However, for some reason, when we were first working out the conditions of our arrangement, I had this unsubstantiated idea that I was prostituting myself out to him and that he would want to take advantage of it all day every day like some sort of Chester-the-molester type character. In reality, that wasn't the case at all. We basically lived as friends who happened to have sex whenever we got that itch that we needed someone to scratch. And in all honesty, we really didn't have sex _that _often. When we did, it was just good ole' fashioned, simple sex. Again, it worked for us. Despite my initial concerns, the whole arrangement in general worked for us much better than I had anticipated.

Moments later, Cecilia was returning with two massive bowls of spaghetti and meatballs. I knew I would eat the whole thing. I ate like a boy. I never left anything on the plate of Cecilia was cooking.

"You want wine?" She asked Edward as she placed his meal in front of him.

"Please. I opened a bottle of Pinot Noir last night. A glass of that would be wonderful."

She returned with his wine and a basket of sliced, buttery garlic bread before leaving us while she went to clean up in the kitchen. As usual, we didn't speak at first. We were both too busy savoring the delicious food.

"So, how was your day?" Edward asked after our first few bites.

"Eh, it was okay. It was my long day of classes, so that kind of sucked. But I did have lunch with your sister."

"Did you? How was that?"

"It was good. She seemed kind of distracted, though."

"Hmm. Maybe she's having trouble with Jasper."

"No, I don't think so. I invited them over for dinner, and she didn't hesitate to agree. She didn't seem like she didn't want to bring him."

"Oh? When are they coming?"

"Tomorrow. I hope that's okay. I didn't know if you had anything planned."

"No, tomorrow is fine. It will be nice to see them. I haven't seen Alice in a while since we've missed the last couple family dinners at my parents'."

Even our dinner conversation flowed much easier than it did three months ago. Rarely did we ever have awkward silences anymore, which used to be so abundant.

"Yeah, it should be fun."

In truth, I hadn't seen too much of Alice either. Sadly, she had kind of been replaced by Holly in the BFF position. But that wasn't entirely my doing. I did make efforts to hang out with her, but she always seemed to have something better to do. At a certain point, it seemed like all I could do was take a step back and wait for her to make a little effort in the friendship as well. I couldn't make it work by myself.

"So," I continued. "How was _your _day?"

"Long," He sighed. "I had a lot of meetings. And I didn't sleep well last night so it was particularly unpleasant to sit there and listen to other people talk all day."

"Yeah, I noticed. You tossed and turned a lot last night."

"Did I keep you up?"

"No, not really." I shrugged. "I was kind of half asleep for a while when I noticed it. Was something bothering you?"

"Not particularly, no." He answered before taking a bite of his food. "I just couldn't seem to shut my mind off."

"You should have told me." I said with a smirk. "We could have played twenty questions."

He chuckled and shook his head. He knew well enough by now that I always wanted to play that game when I couldn't sleep. Talking always made me sleepy.

"You know, one of these days you're going to run out of questions."

"Not likely." I retorted. "I'm a nosey person. There's always something I want to know."

We chatted about more nonsense as we ate and I kept stealing sips of his wine. I didn't want to go back to studying, but when Cecilia came to collect our dishes, I had to accept that it was time. We thanked her for dinner and helped her carry everything into the kitchen, where Edward refilled his wine glass.

"I don't want to study…" I whined. "I'm never going to get it anyway…"

"Do you want help?" Edward offered.

"You'd really help me?" I asked, excited at the prospect of him being able to help me understand it.

He had to be smart to be so successful, after all.

"Sure," He shrugged. "I want you to be successful at school."

I refilled my diet coke and then both went back out into the dining room where I realigned my spread of books and papers and then we sat down in two chairs next to each other.

"Seriously, thanks for helping me." I said as I searched for the right page in my book. "I'm sure this isn't your idea of a fun evening after a full day of work, but I really appreciate it."

"I don't mind." He answered, taking a sip of wine. "I was a bit of a nerd in school. Math was fun for me."

I groaned and rolled my eyes dramatically.

"So you're one of _those_ people?"

"One of what people?" He laughed.

"The _'math is fun for me'_ people."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

I shook my head.

"I'm so the opposite. I'm all about English and history. Fuck math."

"Well, I like a challenge. I like problem solving."

I looked at him and frowned.

"What?" He asked.

"That's probably why you're so successful. What use is English and history? That's never going to help me with wanting to have my own business…"

"Sure it will. No strength is a useless one."

"You sound like my dad."

"Well, it's true. And that's just another reason we should work together. I want to help you start your own business and, together, we have well-rounded strengths. We're a complete package."

I sighed and turned back to my book.

"Alright, sailor. Slow your roll. Let's tackle one goal at a time. I need to pass this test before I can think about my own business."

"Alright, let me see this. I need to see what we're looking at here…" He said as he reached for the text book.

"Here,"

I pushed it in front of him, waiting patiently as he looked over the pages. It was actually quite interesting to watch him as he studied it. I felt like I could see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of his, calculating.

"Oh, this is easy." He said confidently after just a minute or two. "Work a problem for me, so I can see what part you're having trouble with."

"Which one should I do?" I asked as I took the book back and picked up my pencil.

"Do number three. I'll watch."

"Alright," I sighed.

He scooted his chair closer to mine so he could watch over my shoulder as I pulled my notebook towards me and began my attempt to solve the problem. It was a little nerve wracking to have someone watching my work so closely, but I tried not to let it get to me. I knew his input would be helpful, so I didn't want to shy away from it just because I didn't want him to see me mess up.

And of course, I did.

I sighed and began erasing.

"No, no, that was right. Keep going."

"…it was?"

He nodded, so I rewrote what I'd initially done and continued on with the problem, pausing several long moments to think. When I finally did scribble out an answer, I circled it hesitantly. I was probably way off.

"You did that perfectly. What are you freaking out about?" Edward asked as if I was crazy.

"That was actually right?"

"Yes."

"Well…that one was easy. The test won't be that easy. Let me do another one."

"Alright, do number fifteen."

I nodded and turned to a fresh page in my notebook, diving right into the equation. My confidence was slightly higher after getting the first one right. However, this one took me a lot longer. I reached two different answers that I knew couldn't be right, so I crossed them out before Edward could even tell me so. He could tell when I started getting frustrated.

"You know the answer…" he encouraged softly, nudging my leg.

"No I don't!" I snapped. "There is no fucking answer…it doesn't make sense…"

"Exactly. That _is _the answer. The answer is 'no solution'. The problem isn't solvable."

"Oh…right…"

"You knew that. You know how to work these, you're just lacking confidence."

"Well, they're hard…"

"But you've got it. With math, there really is such a thing as studying _too _much. You'll start over thinking it and second guessing yourself. And if you're limited to the time of the class, you don't want to start doing that or you'll go crazy trying to check your answers and you won't finish."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Do one more, just to prove it to yourself. And then you're done studying."

"Okay…"

He watched me work another one and, as he predicted, I got it right. In fact, it didn't even take me long at all. Somehow, he'd seemed to have given me the confidence I'd been lacking with the first two. By the time I circled my final answer, I knew I was right.

"See?" He laughed. "I don't know what you were so worried about. You didn't even need my help."

"Well, that's a relief." I answered, happily closing my book. "Now I don't have to study anymore."

"Just take your time so that you're confident once you find the answer. And if it seems like there isn't a solution, there's probably not. They'll throw those kinds of problems in there to try to throw you off."

"Assholes…" I admonished dramatically.

"They are." He agreed with an amused chuckle.

"Well, that cleared up my evening. I was convinced I'd be up all night cramming."

"You're crazy. I don't know why you were so convinced you didn't know it."

"Well, now that you've convinced me I _do_ know it…,"

I smiled and reached for his wine glass, taking a big gulp.

"Why don't you just get your own? You've been drinking mine all night anyway…"

"I _will_ get my own now that I know I'm not going to be cramming all night."

"And what are you going to do with your newfound freedom?"

"Well, I recorded a _Conspiracy Theory_ marathon yesterday. You wanna watch it with me?"

I had discovered the show a couple of months previously and, while watching it in bed at night before going to sleep, I'd managed to get Edward into it as well. It was now my favorite. I was hooked.

"Oh, God," He laughed. "A marathon? You're going to be up all night."

"Probably." I agreed.

"Yeah, I'll watch it with you."

"Sweet. Movie room?" I asked, using my nickname for the impressive home theater room upstairs.

"No, bedroom. That way if I'm about to fall asleep I literally just have to roll over."

"Lazy ass…" I smirked.

We stopped through the kitchen on our way upstairs so I could grab a glass of wine and Edward could get more. Cecilia was finishing up loading the dishwasher and smiled when we walked in.

"All done with the homework?"

"Yes, thank God." I answered.

"She was worried over nothing. She could work the problems perfectly fine." Edward added, smiling at me.

"She's brighter than she gives herself credit for." Cecilia replied, nodding.

"I wholeheartedly agree." He answered, still looking at me. "Isabella and I are going to head up to bed. Will you lock up when you leave?"

She smirked, probably thinking we were going to do the dirty. In truth, my innocent sights were purely set on things like the Kennedy assassination and area fifty one.

"Yes, yes, I'll make sure all is locked up." She agreed.

"Thank you. Dinner was wonderful. Have a good night."

"I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Night, Cici." I smiled at her as Edward and I shuffled out of the kitchen with our wine.

Upstairs, life was good. I was pretty much obsessed with our bed. It was the most comfortable thing my body had ever been on, and the plush pillows were perfect to snuggle up with and watch T.V. The fluffy, feather-stuffed blankets were nice, too. Thankfully, not too long after our cookie crumb confrontation, Edward and I had managed to compromise on the bedding situation. He was able to pick out something visually appealing, but rational in price. It was nice, but not so fancy that he snapped at me every time I so much as sat on it. I was even allowed to eat a certain selection of Edward-approved foods on it, which consisted of things that didn't drip or produce crumbs. Fortunately, he didn't mind my current obsession. I couldn't get enough of these little round coin-like pieces of super dark chocolate that I'd found at Whole Foods. They were downright _orgasmic _paired with red wine, which is why I wasted absolutely no time pulling the little box out of the top drawer of my nightstand.

"Aren't you sick of those yet?" Edward asked with a chuckle as he settled in to his side of the bed beside me.

We'd stacked our vast amount of pillows up against the headboard so we could recline back against them comfortably as we watched T.V.

"Hell no, I love these things. And I hear dark chocolate is good for you. It's loaded with antioxidants. You want one?"

"No, I'm not a very big sweets person."

"They're not even that sweet. Just try one."

I held one up to his full lips, which he obligingly opened for me. I popped the little piece of chocolate into his mouth. He closed his lips and began to suck on it.

"Not bad…," He nodded after a few moments. "It's a little bitter, but it goes well with the wine."

"See! That's exactly what I said…or, well, thought."

"Give me another one." He laughed.

I smiled amusedly and extended the container out to him so he could take a few.

"Alright, alright, Conspiracy Theory time!" I announced, reaching for the remote.

"I thought you were supposed to go out with Holly tonight."

"I was, but she kind of bailed. She wanted to go late because she had to help her boyfriend out with something, but I thought I really needed to study so I said we should just reschedule."

"I didn't know she has a boyfriend. She's never mentioned him."

Holly had been over quite a few times and we hung out a lot, so Edward knew her pretty well to a certain extent by then.

"Yeah she has. It's that Embry guy she talks about. She introduced him to us at the wedding, but you wouldn't remember. Anyway, I just call him her boyfriend. I don't think they're actually exclusive."

"Oh, well, that's too bad you cancelled. You really didn't even need to study."

I looked over at him curiously, a thought striking me.

"You know, I'm surprised that you and Holly get along so well. I wouldn't think that you would like her."

"Really? Why wouldn't I like her?"

"I don't know, she's just…I don't know how to describe what I mean. I mean, obviously I like her. She's one of my best friends. She just doesn't seem like someone you would get along with."

"You don't think so? She's almost exactly like you, though. You and I get along."

"She's not _that _much like me. I think she's a lot…crazier."

"What do you mean?"

"Party-wise."

"Oh. Well, It's not like I know her _that _well, but I do like her."

"Well, that's cool. She likes you too, just for the record."

"I know." He laughed.

I quirked an eyebrow at him, frowning.

"Conceited, much?"

He laughed again, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to sound so pompous. Though, I suppose what I meant _is _rather pompous now that I think about it. But really, I like to think of it as more of an observation."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, shaking my head slightly in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure Holly wants to sleep with me."

I scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't know you were_ that _arrogant."

"I'm serious. I'm not saying she would. I'm simply saying that basic attraction is there, regardless of if she would act on it or not. Women give off an unintentional signal when they're physically attracted to someone. I'm simply observant of it, that's all. I'm very good at reading people. I've had a decent amount of practice recognizing when a woman wants to sleep with me."

"Wow, this is like a whole new level for you."

"How so?"

"How full of yourself are you to just decide that your wife's friend must want to sleep with you?"

"It's actually quite obvious. I'm somewhat surprised that you genuinely haven't seemed to notice. She flirts with me every time I see her."

I rolled my eyes.

"That's just her personality, Edward. Don't look into it so much. She's like that with everyone. If you're going to assume it's flirting, then she fucking flirts with _me _all the damn time."

"Oh, she does. I've noticed." He smirked.

"Are you fucking kidding right now?" I laughed.

"No. I'm pretty sure she'd like to rail you just as much as she would me."

"Edward, she's not a lesbian."

"Maybe not, but I _guarantee you_ that girl has experimented with other women."

"Now you're just being crazy…" I sighed.

"Whatever you say," He shrugged. "I know I'm right."

I decided to just ignore him, but it was more difficult than I thought. I turned away from him to look at the T.V. as I went to recorded programs and selected an episode of Conspiracy Theory, but I couldn't seem to stop thinking about what he'd just said. Was he right? Did Holly want to have sex with Edward? Did she want to have sex with _me_? That suggestion just seemed completely…ludicrous. Sure, we joked around with each other as girls do, but I didn't feel like she'd ever given me any indication that she'd ever want to go _there. _And yet, though I didn't think he was right about her at all, Edward's suggestion had provoked other questions in me.

"Would you have sex with her?" I asked, unable to resist.

I wanted to know.

"No." He answered simply.

"Why not? I know you think she's pretty."

"She is. But I'm married to you."

"You and I both know that's not a valid reason. I'm not delusional enough to think that you only have eyes for me, Edward."

"Are you delusional enough to forget the compensation you would receive in the event of my unfaithfulness? I'm not stupid. I wouldn't risk losing half of what I've worked for to fuck somebody."

"Okay, well, what if we weren't in this arrangement? Would you have sex with her then?"

"I don't waste my time on 'what if', Isabella."

I sighed.

"You are impossible to get answers out of sometimes…"

He smirked at me before taking a long sip of his wine.

"Let's just watch the show."

We watched Conspiracy Theory for hours, but for the remainder of the night, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about what Edward had said.

.

.

.

.

"I can't fucking hear you, Isabella…" Edward growled, roughly groping both of my ass cheeks in his strong hands.

I moaned and turned my head from the pillow my face had been smothered in, air filling my lungs in an exhilarating rush.

"I said harder…" I managed to speak through my panting.

"Harder?" He asked, picking up his tempo until I could hear the sound of skin on skin. "Harder like that?"

I could practically hear the smirk in his tone.

"Fuck…"

I was bent over the side of the bed, my chest pressed against the mattress, while Edward stood behind me. Even the fan on full blast above me wasn't enough to ease the feeling of fire consuming my skin. Leaving my hair down was a bad idea. It was sticking to the back of my neck and getting in my mouth. However, I knew Edward liked it. This was our go-to position, and I knew he liked my hair down so he could get a good grasp with his fingers in it.

"So fucking tight…" He said, barely audible as his breathing grew noticeably shallower.

"Fuck…fuck…fuck…so close…"

He withdrew one hand from my ass just enough to make a smacking sound as he brought it back to roughly grab a handful of flesh. I moaned, having a weakness for his skilled, kneading fingers.

"You better be…I'm about to…"

"I'm close…don't stop…just keep…right there…"

We were both well past the point of complete sentences. I could feel that tightening sensation begin to stir deep within, making me clutch at the sheets in anticipation. I could feel all of the heat in my body slowly being pulled towards my groin. My mind felt fuzzy; my energy completely directed elsewhere. The heat kept pulling, tightening, like a rubber band being stretched to the max. Even when I thought I couldn't take anymore, the build-up kept impossibly climbing higher and higher. The intensity of it felt like a weight on my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I was starting to worry that relief was never going to find me. It felt like the heat would simply keep compressing at unattainable depths, driving me to the brink until I passed out from the strain of it.

But alas, just before I really began to panic, I was put out of my misery.

I moaned loudly as finally, the pressurized ball of heat at my core erupted and began to spread out through my body in waves. My hips rocked with the sensation of it, my inner muscles grasping desperately at Edward's length inside of me. I heard him grunt behind me, his hands releasing their death grip on my ass and sliding up to hold my hips. We rocked our hips together rhythmically as my inner muscles pulled forth everything he had to give. Every nerve ending on my body tingled as blood rushed back to the lacking areas. I smiled, feeling totally blissed out. There was no better feeling than floating down after climbing to such a high.

"Fuck…" Edward sighed after what could have been hours.

I wouldn't know.

"Mm…" Was the best response I could give as I extended my arms in front of me, stretching as I enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness that had filled my body.

As soon as I felt Edward pull out I rolled over onto my back to let the fan blow soothingly cool air over the front of my body. My nipples hardened, goose bumps forming over my skin in reaction to the cold air now that my body was calming down. He leaned down and kissed me, his lips as always moving with that domineering edge that drove me wild. I didn't even have the energy to kiss him back, but it was so brief I didn't need to. He rose back up again, turning to walk towards the bathroom.

"Hit it and quit it, huh?" I asked, turning my head towards him with a languid grin.

"I'm sorry, I need to shower." He laughed, turning back towards me. "Alice and Jasper will be here before long."

"_You _need a shower? I think I'm already leaking. Isn't it rude to blow such a big load inside of someone?"

"Is it? I thought it would be ruder to blow it on you."

I laughed, propping myself up on my elbows. I loved that I could speak so crudely with him and it was fine. It would be _torture _to be married to someone that I couldn't be myself around, even if the marriage _was_ just a business agreement. I still had to live with the man regardless.

"Let me shower first. I need it."

"Shower with me then."

"I don't know if my legs can hold me up right now."

He smirked and came back to the bed to pick me up, my legs slung over one of his arms, and carry me to the shower.

Sadly, I wasn't as excited for dinner with Alice and Jasper as I should be. Part of that, however, was only because it was still slightly awkward to be around Alice and Edward at the same time. I could tell she was trying to be cordial, but that she also still felt uncomfortable. Maybe I was just paranoid, but I felt like she was always studying the way that Edward and I interacted together. I never felt like I was playing a role more than I did around her, and I didn't like it. I hated feeling so tense around the person who was supposed to be my best friend.

Edward was right. We really didn't have a lot of time left to get ready after getting caught up in our sexual escapades. So, we both moved around the bathroom quickly to try to be ready before Alice and Jasper arrived. By the time I had finished blow drying my hair into loose, bouncy waves and applying my make up, I barely had any time left to pick out something to wear.

"I don't know what to wear…" I complained as I walked into the closet.

Edward was standing there, looking over his selection of shirts, wearing nothing but a pair of black slacks. I stared at his abs unashamedly, admiring the view. He truly was an impressively sculpted human being. Everything from his shoulders to his jaw to his damn forearms was all just beautiful.

"I was just thinking the same thing." He laughed.

"You're a boy. Nobody cares what you wear." I groaned, jealous of that fact.

"How about this?" He asked, pulling out a simple grey, long sleeved sweater type thing.

"Yeah, sure. That's fine. I was serious…you're a boy. Nobody really cares."

"Alright, alright," He laughed. "I get it."

"Can't I just wear jeans and a T shirt?" I asked. "It's just Alice. And she knows me. She knows I hate wearing that uppity shit. She probably things it's absurd seeing me in it anyway."

"It's Alice," He shrugged. "Where whatever you want."

"Awesome…," I sighed, relieved I got to dress as my normal self for once.

Dressing as a trophy wife got _really _old after a while.

Edward waited for me as I put on my favorite jeans and a grey University of Washington T shirt. Then, he laughed at me as I completed my outfit with my big, pink wool socks. I needed them in this house. I was naturally cold all the time anyway, so all of the tile and wood floors were just brutal on my poor feet.

"Mm, something smells good…" I commented as we descended the back stairs together. "Do you know what she's making?"

"Fish, I believe. I think she said salmon."

"Mm…" I repeated, rubbing at my stomach in anticipation.

We had good timing, because we'd barely made it downstairs before the doorbell rang. So, we redirected our route to answer it.

"Hi!" Alice said cheerfully once Edward had opened the heavy door.

"Hey." I smiled back, going to hug her.

Edward went to shake Jasper's hand, and then we switched. I hugged Jasper while he went to kiss his sister's cheek.

"How have you guys been?" Jasper asked as Edward closed the door. "I haven't seen either of you in a while."

"Yes, we've been busy. It's unfortunate we haven't been able to make the family dinners recently."

"You both have been busy? Or just you?" Alice asked her brother.

"Both of us…" He answered cautiously, seeming confused.

"I don't see why being married to you should make Bella so busy. She's not even working anymore. Is being your wife really that time consuming?"

"Alice…" Jasper chided quietly.

I sighed.

_Great. _Alice appeared to be in a hostile mood. I should have known better than to think the four of us could have dinner together and all get along.

Things were slightly tense as we migrated from the entry way into the formal living room. Cecilia, being as awesome as she is, met us in there with four glasses of champagne we hadn't even asked for. She always went above and beyond for us. I made a mental note to ask Edward about giving her a raise.

"I'm sorry if I was being rude a moment ago," Alice spoke as she went to sit on the couch. "I just miss my friend."

I gave her a sad look, softening at her words slightly, but part of me really didn't see where she was coming from with them. I honestly felt like I _had _been making an effort with her. Maybe she was wanting us to hang out more alone, just the two of us.

"Let's try not to get into a conversation that's going to spoil the evening." Jasper warned as he went to sit beside her, resting his hand on her slender leg.

That left the loveseat for me and Edward, so we went to sit next to each other. My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I pulled it out to read a text from Holly.

_Lets do something 2nite!_

I sighed and typed out my response.

_I cant. Edward's sister and her boyfriend are over for dinner._

_Boring…how long is that going 2 take?_

_Idk. They just got here. Boring indeed…_

I felt guilty thinking that doing something with Alice was boring, but things just weren't the same as they were before. I was starting to realize that we were quite possibly permanently damaged by my marriage to Edward. But to be honest, she was making a _much _bigger deal about it than seemed necessary. We used to have so much fun together, and now she didn't even talk to me the same way.

_Well lets go out when they're gone._

_Yeah, if they leave early enough._

I was vaguely aware of the conversation going on around me, but I wasn't really paying attention to it. I couldn't tell you what they were actually talking _about. _I just knew they were speaking.

_Thought u and his sis weren't friends anymore._

_Well I'm trying. She's not making it easy tho…_

_She sent me a friend request on facebook._

_Really?_

That confused me. Why would Alice request to be Holly's friend? I'd only talked about her to Alice a few times, just fleetingly.

_Yeah. Weird…_

"Really, Bella?" I heard Alice ask, regaining my attention.

"What?"

"I've barely seen you at all since you got married and now that I'm here you're going to sit there and text?"

I felt my face grow hot, like I'd just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. It wasn't like Alice to so frankly call me out.

"I'm sorry. It was my friend, Holly. I was just telling her that I'm busy…"

She scoffed, shaking her head slightly.

"Yeah, that one looks like a real keeper…"

I recoiled slightly, offended.

"What is _that _supposed to mean? You don't even know her. And _you're _the one who apparently requested to be her friend on facebook."

"Yeah, and let me tell you, she looks like a real whore in her pictures."

I shook my head, feeling like I was speaking to a stranger. The Alice I knew was so sweet and laid back. Where had this bitch come from?

"That's rather rude, Alice." Edward interjected, shifting next to me. "That's one of Bella's good friends."

"What the hell has gotten into you, Alice? Did you come here tonight just to attack me?" I asked bluntly.

"Did you invite me here tonight just to rub it in my face that you've moved on to a whole new life without me?"

"Are you _kidding _me? I invited you here because I was making an effort to keep this friendship."

"You should have thought about that sooner. Do you know what all of my family friends say about you, Bella? Everyone thinks you're a gold digger. Nobody even knows where you came from, and then all of the sudden you're marrying my brother."

"Alice!" Jasper reprimanded, standing up. "That's it, let's just go. I told you this was a bad idea. I'm not going to do this all night."

"Whatever…," She scoffed, standing up and storming out of the room.

"I'm sorry…" Jasper said to Edward and I as we both stood, sounding exasperated. "I…I don't know what's gotten into her lately."

Edward sighed, shaking his head as we went to walk Jasper to the door. Apparently, Alice had already stormed out of the house and out to the car. Edward didn't say a word, but I apologized to Jasper for the ruined evening and told him to have a good night. He was a good guy. I felt bad for him that he had to leave with _her. _

"What the hell was _that_?" I asked rhetorically with a sigh as I closed the door. "I wasn't expecting that."

"I _told_ you my sister is a whiney brat…" He answered, clearly irritated.

I felt bad that Cecilia had cooked such an awesome meal only for our guest to storm out on us. We explained the situation to her as best as we could, apologizing for the inconvenience it had caused her. She, of course, wasn't put off at all. She told us she would serve us our dinner as usual and assured us that the leftovers would keep perfectly fine. I told her I would eat them for lunch the next day, not wanting her to think that she'd made so much food for nothing. Within a half hour, Edward and I were seated at our usual places at the table with some amazing food in front of us. It normally would have been awesome, but I couldn't help but feel a little bummed about what had just happened. I was starting to realize that I'd lost a friend through all of this, and I missed her. But at this point, it was starting to look hopeless to try. Alice wasn't the same friend to me that she once was. I didn't like this new version of her.

"…she wasn't even acting like the same person." I commented, sipping on my white wine.

"I'm sorry this marriage has caused so many problems between you two. I do feel at least partially responsible for putting a wedge between you."

I shook my head adamantly, disagreeing.

"No, Edward. You're not responsible. I was perfectly capable of moving forward with our friendship as the same Bella I've always been. _Alice _is the one who put a wedge there. I may be married to you now, but you have nothing to do with our friendship."

"Well, I think there's something that I should tell you about Alice."

"What?" I asked, looking up at him curiously.

"To be honest, I assumed that you already knew. You two were best friends. I thought she would have told you about her past."

"…what about her past?"

"Alice has a lot of issues…imbalances."

"Imbalances?"

"Chemical imbalances. You know, in the brain."

"What do you mean?"

"She has obstacles that she fights every day. Bipolar disorder, severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, even _more _severe issues with anxiety…"

"Wait, what?" I asked, floored by what he was saying. "How could I not know that?"

"Well, she's medicated. She has been for years. So, under normal circumstances, you wouldn't be able to tell. I just assumed that she would have told you."

"What do you mean by normal circumstances? What's not normal now?"

"Well, she's been acting off. To be honest, I was really curious to be around her tonight. I spoke to Emmett yesterday, and he said something wasn't right with her at dinner at my parents' house last week. She was acting obsessive about the food that she was served not touching each other or she refused to eat it. That's something that she used to do when she was younger. And then in high school, it all blew up. She started cutting herself to cope with the anxiety. Her OCD drove her to anorexia. She was obsessive with her weight and appearance."

"Wha –" I paused, not knowing what to say. How did I never know any of this? "Why is she acting differently now though? If Emmett said she was acting off, what's the reason?"

"I'm not sure. He said he's going to speak to my parents about maybe trying to convince Alice to ask her doctor about increasing the dosage of her medication. Maybe she's slowly growing more and more immune to it."

"And you think all of that had to do with her attitude tonight?"

"I'm not saying that definitively, but I am curious. That sounded like the bipolar talking, to me."

"Wow…" I sighed. "I never knew any of that about her."

"I always assumed that you did. But then that night a few months ago when you asked me about the picture of her and I at the hospital, I told you it had to do with her issues, and I could tell that you had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't want to tell you in front of Holly, and then once I'd thought about it I started thinking maybe it wasn't my place to tell you at all. But then Emmett called me to say he was worried about her, and after tonight…I just thought that you should know. That way, when you have these types of confrontations with her, maybe you'll have some sort of idea where it's coming from."

"You think it's from the bipolar disorder? Doesn't that just mean mood swings, though?"

"Yes and no. It does cause mood swings, but it usually goes hand in hand with anger. Bipolar people have extreme irritability, which was pretty evident tonight."

"Well I hope that your parents can convince her to increase her medication. Because tonight…I didn't like that Alice."

"No, I didn't either."

.

.

.

.

Later on, I awoke in the middle of the night to an empty bed. I looked around in the darkness momentarily for any sign of Edward before sitting up and turning the lamp on. He was nowhere to be seen.

_Strange_.

I sat there for a couple minutes, my sleepy mind trying to catch up with me, before I decided to get up and go look for him. I knew I wouldn't sleep well if I didn't. Not because I didn't like not sleeping specifically with him, but I definitely didn't like sleeping in that gigantic house alone. It was scary. Plus, I just wanted to know where he was. It didn't seem likely that he would just leave in the middle of the night.

I winced as my feet met the hardwood floor and I left the shelter of the warm and cozy bed. I was cold, but I didn't feel like putting clothes on. My panties and oversized T shirt would just have to suffice.

I folded my arms over my chest as I left the bedroom and then glanced each way down the hall, trying to decide where Edward would most likely be. I would have guessed downstairs in his office, but then I noticed a light. It was to my right, at the other end of the hall, in the room that I knew housed Edward's piano. It now also housed my guitar, but I'd probably been in there only once or twice since I'd moved in. Curiously, I made my way down the hall and gently pushed the cracked door open, peering around it.

"Hey…" I said quietly, not wanting to disturb him.

He was sitting at the piano, on the bench, but the cover was pulled down over the keys. On top of it, captivating Edward's attention, was that little black book again; the one that he'd been writing in on our honeymoon. He looked exactly the same as he did then, writing away with a thoughtful look on his face. When I spoke, he looked up and over at me. He looked surprised to see me, but not startled. Always so calm and collected, that one.

"Hey" He answered, immediately closing the book in front of him.

"What are you doing awake?"

"I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to turn on the light in the bedroom and wake you."

I nodded as I walked towards him, resting my hand on the side of the piano.

"So what are you doing?"

"Nothing, just trying to clear my thoughts."

Apparently I would have to ask my question more directly. Edward never gave answers without being pressed.

"What is that book? I've seen it before…in Italy…"

"It's nothing."

"Nothing would imply that it doesn't exist, in which case I wouldn't be asking about it."

"…Nothing of importance, then."

"I still want to know anyway."

"It's a tool."

"A tool for what?"

"Clearing my thoughts."

"It's a diary?" I smirked.

He sighed.

"It's not a diary, Isabella."

"What is it, then?"

"Exactly what I said. It's a collection of thoughts."

"…so it's a diary."

"Call it whatever you want." He sighed.

"Can I read it?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"It's personal."

"Why can't I read it if it's just thoughts? You talking shit about me?" I asked with a smirk. "Or, uh…writing shit, I guess."

He didn't answer me as he stood and picked up the diary, or whatever the hell he wanted to call it, and went to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To put this away."

"Do you have some cute little hiding place? Under the mattress?"

"I think it's a bit more secure than that, actually."

I followed behind him, sure he would tell me not to, but he never did. So, I followed right behind him back into the bedroom and through into the closet. Then, as he went to the back of the closet and kneeled down, I knew why he didn't care that I was following. He was going for the big safe, which was of course locked with a combination that I didn't know. I'd never even seen inside of it. And this wasn't your traditional safe, either. It looked more like a storage freezer that people keep in their garages. It was massive.

"Is your diary really that important that you have to lock it up?"

"I've written about extremely personal things, Isabella. It could be detrimental in the wrong hands."

"Meaning me?"

"Meaning anyone who enters this house. It's not something I would leave lying around anywhere."

I tried to watch as he put in the combination, but he made sure to keep his free hand cupped over the lock so I couldn't see. He was quick, clearly having done it several times before, and had the top popped open in no time at all.

I gasped when I looked inside.

Of course, there were a lot of normal things in there that you would expect to see in a safe. I noted a folder full of documents, some old looking jewelry, watches, a large amount of cash, and even a gun. There were also some small boxes that could have contained anything. However, none of that was what made me gasp.

There were more diaries. Like…_upwards of thirty _more diaries.

"…what the hell?" I said quietly as I looked at the stacks of them. "Why do you have so many?"

"I've been writing since I was a teenager."

"And you've kept them all?"

"Yes. I'm not sure why, to be honest. They just started to pile up over the years."

"You must write, like…a lot."

"I suppose, but you have to keep in mind these span over the course of almost fifteen years.

"What kind of teenage boy writes in a diary? Were you a douchebag?"

"It's not a diary, Isabella…" He corrected me, exasperated.

"Okay, fine, we'll call it a journal. Fair?"

"I suppose."

"Okay, really, I'm not trying to be a bitch this time. What kind of teenage boy writes in a journal?"

He didn't answer me immediately. He was quiet as he placed the journal in the safe and relocked it. I was starting to think he wasn't going to respond to me at all, which wasn't entirely unusual. But then, as he stood, he spoke.

"You're right. It's not something a normal teenager would do."

"So you weren't a normal teenager?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I was damaged."

"Why?"

"Let's go back to bed." He answered, ignoring my question as he turned off the light and left the closet.

I followed him, eyeing him curiously.

"You're not going to answer my question, are you?"

"No, I'm not." He answered calmly.

We were both quiet as we went back to bed. I turned off my lamp so we were left in the dark as we settled in, adjusting the pillows and blankets.

"Well, whatever the reason you started, writing must really help you if you stuck with it for so long."

"It does help me. Like I said, it clears my thoughts. Sometimes I feel like I have so much going on in my mind, so many thoughts bouncing around. When I write them down on paper, I feel like I can let go of them."

"You must have been a mature teenager to come up with that. When shit was fucked up in my life as a teenager, I found much more unhealthy means of dealing with it."

"I didn't come up with it on my own."

"Oh."

"My parents forced me to see a therapist. It was his idea. I thought it was stupid it first, but it helped me sleep."

"Why did they force you to see a therapist?"

He sighed, turning on his side to face me.

"I had horrible anxiety. Not the kind that Alice suffers from. It was different. Hers is biological, in her own head. Mine was post traumatic stress anxiety. My parents forced me to see a therapist when it got really bad."

"Post traumatic stress? From what?"

"It doesn't matter. It was a long time ago. Everyone was worried it would have a permanent affect on me, but I guess it's true that time heals."

"You don't have the anxiety anymore then? Are you medicated? Like Alice?"

"No. Alice is medicated to fix an imbalance. My issues weren't like that. If they'd given medicine, it would have been to numb my emotions altogether. My mother didn't want that. So, she decided I should work through it the old fashioned way, hence the therapy. It's all behind me now, but everyone has their anxious moments. As an alcoholic deals with his by drinking, I deal by writing."

"That's cool," I said sincerely. "I'm sorry I made fun of you for it."

"It's okay."

"So, no chance you're going to tell me what was traumatic for you in the first place?"

He was quiet for a few long moments before turning over onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling.

"I told you, it's in the past now. There's no point in rehashing old feelings. I worked really hard to get myself away from that place. It's not somewhere that I want to revisit."

I nodded, one hundred percent empathetic of that.

"I understand." I answered, meaning it.

"Thank you."

.

.

.

.

The following Sunday, it rained hard. I took solace in bed, talking to Holly on speaker phone as I surfed around the internet on my laptop.

"So what are you doing?"

"Lying in bed watching Eight Mile." I answered with a smile, glancing up at Eminem on the T.V. screen.

"I love that movie!"

"I've seen it like a thousand times. I think I know all the raps by heart." I responded as I typed away, answering an Email.

"_What's the matter, dawg, you embarrassed? This guy's a gangster? His real name's Clarence!"_ She rapped, quoting the movie.

I laughed loudly, picking up where she left off without missing a beat.

"_And Clarence lives at home with both parents. And Clarence' parents have a real good marriage…"_

"Let's go do something."

"Nope. Thunderstorm, dude. That's code for Bella stays in bed all day."

"What, you don't want to go play in the rain with me?"

"Sorry" I laughed.

"You suck. And you're missing out. I'm going lingerie shopping for Embry's birthday."

"You're giving Embry lingerie for his birthday?"

"You know what I mean. I'm _wearing _lingerie for his birthday."

"I don't wear lingerie. It's itchy."

"Seriously? You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

"Edward _totally _seems like a lingerie guy. I bet he wishes you would."

I paused, remembering Edward's speculation of Holly's…_interest. _

"I think Edward's perfectly fine with our sex life."

I had no idea if that was true or not, but I didn't want to appear as if I was lacking or unable to satisfy him.

"Alright, well, I'm just saying…you should come with me. Get something. Surprise him…"

"I don't know…" I answered, picking at my thumbnail. "I think he'd rather me go with him, anyway."

"Mm, there you go." She laughed. "_Now _you're talking."

"I'll think about it."

"Okay, well I'll talk to you later. I've gotta go."

"Kay, have fun."

"Oh, I will. Later, sweet cheeks."

I hung up and turned my attention back to my computer. I answered a few more emails before I decided to log onto my interactive school account to see if I had any new grades up. I was hoping that my math test grade would be up, but I knew it was probably too soon. And yet, when I logged on and my homepage popped up, there it was. Right in front of me. A bright, shiny, well-earned ninety two.

I squealed, shoving my laptop away from me and bolting off of the bed.

"Edward!" I yelled as I raced down the stairs.

It was my first instinct to want to tell him my exciting news. He'd given me the reassurance that I could pass, and somehow I pulled off an A.

"EDWARD!" I yelled louder as I reached the end of the stairs and raced down the main hallway through the entry way and down the shorter hall towards his office where I knew he was working.

The door opened and he stepped into the hall just as I was approaching.

"What is goi –"

Without a second thought, I threw myself at him. I lunged right at him, wrapping my legs tightly around his waist and throwing my arms around his neck.

Thankfully, he caught me instead of letting me fall on my ass.

"I GOT AN A ON MY MATH TEST!" I squealed, beaming at him.

"Of course you did," He answered, smiling at me with his face inches from mine. "I told you…"

"But I was so worried…"

"You were worried for nothing."

"Thank you for helping me." I said before kissing his cheek.

"I didn't. You already knew everything."

"You did help me. There were like five of those questions on there with no solution. Thanks to you, I didn't waste my time trying to solve them over and over again. I wouldn't have even finished the test if I had."

"Well, I'm proud of you. But I'm not taking any credit. It was all you."

I looked at his face directly in front of mine and took a moment to appreciate the perfection of it. The man had flaws, but I couldn't think of one in physical terms. He was beautiful. His bright green eyes contrasted perfectly with his dark hair. His face was made out of all strong, hard lines that composed definitive cheek and jaw bones. His skin was perfectly toned and perfectly flawless. And I knew personally that his full, pink lips were baby soft and smooth. And all of that was just his face.

_The rest of his body…_

"Let's go upstairs." I suggested without thinking twice.

I watched as his facial expression shifted from an amused grin to a curious gaze. He knew what I was suggesting, but I'd never been one to initiate sex. There were times I was totally into it, sure, but I always let him be the one to bring it up. I couldn't blame him if he was caught off guard.

"Right now?"

I rolled my eyes.

"No, tomorrow." I laughed. "Yes right now…"

He smiled faintly, his eyes searching mine for something. Was he really _that _surprised?

"Okay."

He carried me through the house and up the stairs to our room, which only served to turn me on more. He handled me as if my weight was nothing, and that was always a turn on. Of course all women love a strong man who can toss them around a little bit in bed.

After entering the bedroom, Edward used his foot to gently kick the door closed behind him. Then he carried me to the bed, placing me down next to it. My lap top was still there, open, and _Eight Mile _was still playing on the T.V.

"I'll be right back." He told me, beginning to unfasten his pants as he went into the bathroom.

So while Edward peed, I decided to get naked. I took off all my clothes, tossing them onto a chair that held a whole pile of my clothing. Clearly, I wasn't shy being around Edward naked. And once the clothes were gone, I then debated what I should actually do with myself. Should I go ahead and assume position?

_Hmm, I wonder what position that will be._ Not.

Every time Edward and I had sex, it was almost always from behind. The handful of times it wasn't, I sat on him while he lay down. I had a feeling this was because those positions didn't feel very intimate. They were easy. However, at the same time, I could only take so much of that before it started to become repetitive. I needed some variety. Therefore, it was then that I decided today we would be trying something new. I was already trying something new by initiating the sex in the first place. Why not carry on?

I surveyed the room, searching for a more adventurous option than the bed. I smirked when my gaze landed on a large chest of drawers against the far wall. It looked sturdy enough, but I figured it was best to check it out. So I went over and pushed down on it with my hands, determining that it could probably take a good amount of weight. It came up just above my hip, too, so it was a good height.

"I swear you have the best ass I've ever laid eyes on. So robust on that tiny little frame…"

I smiled and spun around, finding Edward standing behind me. He was shirtless, but still had his pants on. Once I'd turned, he took the opportunity to shift his eyes down and up the front side of my body, apparently already having had accessed the back.

He looked hungry.

"Mr. Cullen, I think you're entirely overdressed for the occasion…" I observed as I slowly made my way towards him.

"Evidently so."

"Let me help you out with that…"

His pants were on, but unfastened. So all I had to do was give them a bit of a nudge for them to drop to the floor around his ankles. He stepped out of them, stepping towards me. I wasted no time then hooking my fingers in the waistband of his boxer briefs, tugging them down just enough for his semi-erect manhood to pop out. I smiled, looking down as I wrapped my hand around his length. There was always something amusing to me about flaccid or semi-flaccid penises. They're just so…innocent looking.

I stroked him only a few times before releasing him and reaching further down to gently cup his balls.

"Mm…" He hummed, sighing softly.

It barely took any attention at all before the little guy stiffened to full capacity, packing some serious heat.

_Not so innocent anymore…_

"There he is…" I joked softly, pleased with myself.

Edward then took it upon himself to push his boxers the rest of the way down and step out of those as well. I released him from my hand and took a step back, provoking his eyes to do another sweep of my body. The way he looked at me, so intently, always gave me shivers.

I took a few more steps backwards, holding Edward's gaze, until I was standing right in front of the chest of drawers. He stayed right where he was and stared me down, his green eyes bright and piercing. I licked my bottom lip and then bit it, moving my hands to my sides and slightly behind myself to grasp the top of the furniture behind me.

"You want it?" I asked.

He nodded, stepping towards me like a predator after his prey. It turned me on.

"Take it." I challenged as I hopped up on top of the furniture, parting my legs in invitation.

He licked his lips, closing the distance between us and stepping between them. He placed his hands on my knees, sliding them up my thighs until they came to rest on my hips. I loved those hands. They were big and strong and they always moved with purpose when they roamed my body.

Suddenly, he gripped my hips in those hands and jerked them forward until I was positioned at the very edge of the furniture beneath me. My upper body fell back slightly, as I was caught off guard, and my head hit the wall. He glanced up at me to make sure I was okay, but didn't say anything. Eminem continued to rap away on T.V. as Edward looked down to watch as he extended his hand to rub my clit slowly under his thumb.

"_Don't ever try to judge me, dude._

_You don't know what the fuck I've been through…"_

I sighed contently, biting my lower lip again. Eminem was right. It was clear that Edward and I both had issues. He didn't know what I'd been through, and I didn't know what he'd been through either. And somehow, regardless of that, I felt strongly that we simply _got _each other. When he looked at me, he had an understanding in his eyes that I'd never seen before. I wasn't stupid enough to get caught up and think that there was something to our marriage other than an arrangement, but I did feel a sense of camaraderie with him. I respected him. I trusted him. For some reason, he gave me a sense of security. Not financially, but personally. I felt like he had my back. I wanted him to feel the same thing from me.

Edward was my friend.

And at the moment, I wanted my friend to fuck me.

"I don't need foreplay…" I informed him, reaching down for his hand to guide it lower. "I'm already wet."

He slid his finger up the length of my opening, feeling the evidence for himself. And then he smirked, his hands moving to my thighs as he moved to close the distance between us, lining himself up to enter me.

I'd always thought that initiating sex with Edward would make me feel weak and vulnerable, but the truth was in fact quite the opposite. I felt strong, sexy…powerful.

I watched Edward's face as he looked down, watching as he held the base of himself in his hand, preparing to enter me. I liked watching him. It wasn't something that I usually got to experience in our normal position. I noted that his face looked impossibly more angular, maybe because his jaw appeared to be clenched.

While one hand held himself, the other moved to the back of my left knee. He pushed my leg up pretty much as much as he could with my knee bent and then slipped his arm underneath so he could hold it there, with my leg draped over the crook of his arm. My right leg was left as it was, just sort of dangling off the edge of the chest of drawers.

My eyes remained on his face and his remained watching when he pushed into me. I watched his eyes close in response to the sensation. He swallowed and took a deep breath. He felt even bigger than usual in this position, so I could only assume I felt tighter to him.

"Fuck me…" I urged, needing to feel friction.

He laughed a breathy chuckle, opening his eyes and looking up at me.

"Always so impatient, Isabella…"

"Please…" I sighed, wiggling with anticipation.

He obliged my request, his hands holding onto me firmly with one on my leg and one on my hip as he slowly began moving in and out of me. His thrusts always began slow and deep. The quicker and shallower they got, the closer I knew he was to falling over the edge.

Because of this new position, Edward and I were actually able to look at each other during sex. It felt a little strange at first, because it was new. We both held each other's gaze, neither one of us looking away. The green hue of his eyes was hypnotizing. I wasn't even sure if I was blinking or not. I simply stared at him, my eyes I'm sure conveying how good he felt.

Somehow, Edward always seemed to know just how to hit all the right spots. My body awoke to his stimulation. Blood starting flowing, my muscles began tightening, and my breathing was quickly changing. I moved my arms behind me to support myself with my hands flat against the wood beneath me, which consequently jutted my breasts out towards Edward. The heaving of my chest with my deepening breaths only made that fact more apparent, and he definitely took notice. He broke our eye contact to let his eyes fall to my breasts, staring at them hungrily. He started to thrust into me harder, making them bounce, and I wasn't sure if that was coincidence or not.

When Edward's staring continued, I moved one hand to cup my left breast and grope it roughly for his visual benefit. He moaned and licked his bottom lip. His free arm that wasn't holding my leg then moved as he lifted his hand to press flat against the wall behind me, giving himself some leverage as he continuously drove himself into me faster and harder with each passing minute. I gawked at the straining muscles in his shoulder and bicep. He was so strong. It was easy to get lost in thoughts of all the things he could do to me.

"Ughhh..." I groaned softly, tossing my head back against the wall when he hit a particularly pleasurable spot.

My back arched, and I could feel the ends of my hair tickling the skin at the bottom of my spine.

"Yeah?" He asked, grunting sensually as his tempo increased. "Right there?"

"Fuck yes…right there…"

I squeezed my inner muscles around him as hard as I could, which caused him to moan loudly and roughly grab at a handful of flesh on my thigh in his strong hand. I opened my eyes and looked at him again to find that he was already staring at me. His eyes were full of lust and control. His jaw seemed to clench and unclench off and on with every few thrusts. Just the sensuality of looking at him alone increased my pleasure, and I moved my hand to grip the edge of the furniture.

We stared at each other for a good while as he maintained thrusting into me with a steady rhythm for several more minutes. We were quiet, but our eyes spoke everything we weren't saying. I could see him reading the pleasure in my eyes, and I could see his in his own gaze. I knew when his eyes became glassy and unfocused and his breathing became increasingly heavier that his pleasure was starting to build. Mine was beginning to build too, and I started to feel like I needed something to hold on to.

"Come here…" I said breathlessly, clutching at his shoulders to pull him towards me.

He obliged, releasing the leg he'd been holding up which I then loosely wrapped around his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, one hand holding the back of his head as I held him to me. I was now basically wrapped around him, and my mouth was naturally right beside his ear. I was sure he could very clearly hear every gasp, sigh, and whimper of pleasure that he evoked from me, but I didn't care. Everything felt too good to care. As always, he was hitting just the right spot that made my toes curl.

He braced himself and held me steady with his hands on my hips. His upper body stayed relatively still as I held him to me, his only real movement in the thrust of his hips. We were both on the edge, and as he fucked me harder, the chest of drawers I sat atop of began to bump against the wall with the force of it. If he noticed, he didn't seem to care.

Suddenly, I was at the brink of my orgasm. There was no slow build-up this time. All it took was that slight change of position, Edward's harder thrusts, and the feeling of his strong body in my arms to have me right there. He started grunting softly with each thrust, and I knew then that he was right there with me too.

"Edward…" I whimpered into his ear.

The thudding of the furniture against the wall grew louder, and it seemed to match the thud of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I could feel the small waves of pleasure starting to break in my core and I moaned loudly. Edward then stilled, his body tensing in my arms. His hands tightened their grasp on my hips and seconds later, I felt the heat of him emptying himself into me.

Just the sheer thought that he was climaxing at that moments was enough to send me into my own orgasm. I felt myself constrict around his length and I whimpered into his ear with the force of the pleasure spreading through my veins. I wasn't very loud, but it was a deep orgasm; the kind that was perfectly satisfying.

It seemed like Edward's body relaxed in my arms at the same moment that my own muscles unclenched. I dropped my head against his shoulder, my face towards his neck, and inhaled his scent. It felt so good to lean on him like that and I really didn't want him to move. I ran my fingers slowly through the hair on the back of his head, feeling that the roots were slightly damp. I couldn't blame him for sweating. He'd been doing all the work, and I didn't even know how long we went for. I just knew it was pretty damn long.

"Mm…" I hummed contentedly, smiling a stupid grin.

My chest was still heaving slightly, but both of our breathing seemed to be slowing back to a more normal rate. He sighed and moved his fingers to brush all of my hair off of my back and over my shoulder, which felt nice. Then those same long, lithe fingers ghosted down along my spine, making me shiver.

"Are you cold?" he asked, his voice low.

"No." I answered, shaking my head against his shoulder.

I'm not sure what Edward was thinking or if he was as content as I was since I couldn't see his face from the way I was positioned. But for one reason or another, neither one of us moved. I stayed right where I was with my head on his shoulder and he simply stood there, his fingers continuing to move down my back. Neither one of us said anything, but it was a comfortable silence. We were both sated. I didn't feel like I needed to speak, so I didn't. He eventually pulled out of me, and then I went ahead and gently unwound my arms from around his neck.

When he stepped out of my embrace and walked away towards the bathroom, I felt a loss.

I think that was the first time I ever really felt something for Edward on an instinctual level; something subconscious. At the time, it was easy for me to write it off as the great sex. I thought maybe I just wanted more of it, when in hindsight, I think I just wanted more of him. Whatever that little flicker of a feeling was, it was just a seed for the time being. I wouldn't even realize until much later that I'd even felt anything at all. And yet, even though I didn't know it, the seed had been planted.

Fate had marked me, even way back then.

It was just going to take me a while to catch on.

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**A/N:**

**I'm so thankful for all of you who have stuck by the story. I was tickled by all of the positive feedback I got on the last chapter :) Reviews are the only form of payment I receive for writing, and I enjoy each and every single one even if I can't respond to all of them. **

**Some of you have expressed a distaste for Bella because she seems immature. Well, she is. That's part of the progression of my story. Over the duration of their marriage, we'll see Bella start to mature with time. Seeing that change in her is part of the story. Just like we'll see some positive changes in Edward, too.**

**Just a reminder, I mentioned in a previous author's note that later on in the story that chapters would start to be spaced out over time. That starts now. As you saw, this chapter skipped over three months. I would love to write every single day of Bella and Edward's marriage, but they have a long story to tell. If I want to keep this at a rational amount of chapters, we're going to have to do some skipping. Another reason I knew I wanted to do that from the beginning is because I thought it would be really cool to show with each chapter the difference in how close they've gotten. It should be more obvious since we'll be skipping a few months at a time. From now on I'll try to mention at the beginning how far into the marriage we are. **

…**that being said, some of you have asked if I know how many chapters this is going to be. I really don't have an answer. The only answer I've been able to give is that these two have a lot of story left to tell. **

**Oh, and one request…please don't be too hard on Alice. If you've never dealt with a bipolar person, you simply won't understand her. She's not being a bitch just for the sake of being a bitch. She has issues. **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Twitter: JennaRayFF**

**P.S. Hint: If you don't like the story, you should have stopped reading like 14 chapters ago ;) **


	16. Christmas As A Cullen Part 1

**A/N:**

**I don't own Twilight.**

**This chapter is pretty much all dialogue, strictly E/B action. I didn't intend for it to take up so much length, but it was all needed to set some stuff up. Therefore, though it wasn't my initial intention, I'm splitting this chapter into two parts. It was going to all be one, but it would have been ridiculous…like 30,000 words…so, we're going to do a two part-er. I told you guys that I'd try to remember from now on to give notice at the beginning of each chapter how long E/B have been married, so…**

**[Edward and Bella have been married six months]**

…**more at the bottom!**

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My heels clicked against the cobblestone driveway as I literally ran from my car to the front door, eager to get myself into the heated house. It was December first, and the weather was absolutely brutal. I normally enjoyed cold weather, but this was a little extreme.

I'd just returned home from brunch and an appointment at the nail salon with Heidi. It wasn't the most fun I'd ever had, but she was cool. Edward had been adamant about thinking that we would get along well, and I was eager to have an ally in his social circle, so I wasn't going to turn down her invitation to hang out. She was fun in her own way, and I had found that she was someone I could look up to in terms of how Edward expected me to act. I found it helpful to note the way that she dressed and the way that she acted at social gatherings. So far, she'd been a pretty good role model. We didn't exactly have very much in common, but it was easy to find things to talk to her about. She usually did most of the talking anyway.

I went upstairs to find Edward in the bedroom, standing in front of the massive windows and looking out over the front of the property. I smiled, glad to see him. He'd just returned that morning from an overnight business trip in Las Vegas, and I'd yet to see him. In all honesty, I'd missed him. I didn't like staying in that big house alone, and I definitely didn't mind having Edward around. As skeptical as I'd been about him at first, he was right from the very beginning. We were so much alike. And by this point, Edward and Holly were my two best friends. It was kind of inevitable to be close to Edward when we lived together, slept together, and genuinely did like each other. Contractual agreement aside, he was a cool dude.

With a grin, I tried to walk as quietly as possible across the room to scare him. I was glad that I'd taken off my heels downstairs and was holding them in my hand to avoid any sound they would have made against the wood floors.

"Hello, Isabella."

"Damn it…" I muttered with a frown. "How did you know I was here?"

"I saw your reflection in the window."

I sighed and gave up my attempt at being quiet, noisily shuffling my way over to him instead.

"Right. Well…hi." I pouted, stretching up on my toes to kiss his cheek once I'd reached his side.

He chuckled against my cheek as he kissed it, turning to face me directly.

"Hi." He answered with an amused smirk.

"How was your flight?"

"As good as a flight can be, I suppose."

"Good. And how was Vegas?"

"All work and no play." He answered with a shrug.

"What kind of work did you have in Vegas, anyway?"

"I invested in a hotel there a couple years ago. I funded two men who purchased some rundown property with the intention of flipping it into a luxury hotel and selling it. They invited me out to take a look at a few more properties they're interested in to do the same thing. So, I went out and took the opportunity to check up on the first place."

"And how did it look?"

"It looked fantastic. I was thoroughly impressed."

"So did you make a deal on the new properties then?"

"Not yet. I told them to show me the money on the first place and then we would talk."

"I see. Well, I missed you. I couldn't sleep last night and I had nobody here to play twenty questions with."

He laughed, smiling at me.

"You could have called. We could have played over the phone."

"Damn, I didn't think of that…"

I wanted to change into some cozy and comfortable clothes, so I turned to walk through the bathroom and into the closet.

"Everything went smoothly while I was gone?" Edward asked, following behind me.

"Yeah," I shrugged, going to put my heels away on my side's built in shoe rack. "It was just one night."

"I know, but I don't like traveling. I like to be here. Maybe it's a control thing, I don't know…"

"You should have taken me to Vegas with you. I could have partied my night away on the strip."

I pulled off my itchy top, tossing it in the dirty clothes hamper, and then went to work unfastening the clasp on my pants.

"I assure you there was no partying going on." Edward replied, watching me unashamedly.

"Maybe not for you, but I don't need you to have a good time." I retorted, smirking at him.

He shook his head at me as I pulled on my comfy black leggings. I followed it up with a big baggy, grey sweater and my black UGG boots. I'd been so anti UGG boots for years, because of the annoying sorority girls who had catapulted them into popularity, but then one day Holly convinced me to try some on. They were the warmest, comfiest, coziest things my feet had ever been in.

I bought three pair; one black, one brown, and another black pair just to wear around inside the house.

"How was your brunch with Heidi?"

"It was good. We got our nails done afterwards, which was nice, because I _really _needed it. I should really stop biting mine. Oh, and she said that she and Marcus will definitely be at the party."

Edward had decided for some reason that we needed to throw a Christmas party. I was surprised, considering he claimed to be such a recluse, but he said he felt like he should be sociable and be the host of a party for once. He said it was bad manners to attend so many gatherings and never invite his colleagues and associates to his home. Therefore, he would knock them all out at once with a party.

I was semi excited, only because I loved Christmas. I had so many awesome Christmas memories as a child, so I was down for any form of celebrating the holiday.

"Speaking of which, the decorator will be here in just a few minutes to discuss how we want to decorate the house."

"You hired a decorator just for putting up Christmas decorations?"

"Yes. I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to decorating this house. And she's a professional. She'll know the trendy way to go about it."

"There's a trendy way to put up Christmas decorations?"

"Isabella," he laughed. "There's a trendy way to do everything nowadays."

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Later on that night, standing in the kitchen, Edward and I found ourselves in a pickle.

"This is all your fault, Edward."

"Stop being so dramatic…" He sighed as he rummaged through the refrigerator.

"What are we supposed to eat?"

Edward had decided to give Cecilia the day off, which at the time, I was totally for. She worked so hard for us. A day off was more than deserved. She needed to spend some time with her family…with her children.

But then I got hungry.

"We're adults. We're perfectly capable of figuring something out."

"Do you know how to cook?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him although his back was to me.

"No, do you?"

"No."

He sighed, continuing his exploration through the contents of our massive refrigerator. It was completely stocked with food. We were just being babies about the whole thing, acting like we were going to starve. At least, I was acting that way.

"There's sandwich stuff." He suggested, though he sounded less than thrilled with that option.

"I don't _want _a sandwich, though. I'm spoiled now. And that's your fault also! You've spoiled me with Cecilia's cooking every single night…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He sighed, clearly feeling the same way. "I guess we could go out."

_Go out? Just the two of us?_

_Very _few times had Edward and I been out to eat just the two of us. One of those times was when he'd initially proposed our arrangement to me over sushi. Other than that, well, I could count the number of times on one hand. We ate dinner together all the time, sure, but we really only went out with other people. Going out just the two of us seemed like it could potentially feel too…date-like.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that." I answered, though I wondered if it would be weird.

Really, I was being stupid. There was no reason at all that it should be weird. We were _married_. And even if it wasn't a traditional marriage, we really were good friends. There was no reason that we shouldn't be able to go out and enjoy a meal together. I was just so used to our same spots at the same dining room table with the same amazing cooking. I was simply apprehensive to step out of the comfort of a routine.

"I mean, unless you don't want to. I suppose we could order in."

"No, we can go out."

"Okay."

"I get to pick the place, though." I made sure to inform him.

The last thing I felt like doing was dressing up and going to some hoity-toity restaurant for caviar and champagne. I wanted to stay in my comfy clothes and eat some _real _fucking food. I wanted to go somewhere normal.

"Alright, that's fine."

We were both starving, so we wasted no time turning off all the lights and heading straight for the front door. We stopped off at the coat closet in the entry way to bundle up, preparing to battle the frigid weather. When I turned around, Edward was gazing thoughtfully at the row of four hooks next to the alarm by the door that held our car keys.

I guess when you own four cars, it's a bit much to keep all of the keys on one ring.

"I want to drive the Audi." He announced, turning to smile at me.

I pouted at him. I was hoping I would get to drive the Range Rover, as I hardly ever got to even ride in it. Regardless, for someone who owned four cars, Edward was very good at justifying it. Of course, there was the Audi, which was for my use. The Aston Martin he claimed was for more recreational use, while he used the Mercedes as more of an everyday vehicle. The Range Rover he said he'd purchased because he needed something larger so it wouldn't be cramped if he had passengers with him.

_The logic that rich people use…_

I might as well ask him to buy me a fucking Ferrari so I could have Ferrari Friday's. That's a good reason to buy a car, right?

But really. I'd have to run that by him.

"Alright, alright, I _guess _you can drive my baby…" I conceded, though I would never actually argue it.

I wasn't so much of a bitch that I would protest the man driving a car that he'd paid for.

"Come on, then," he answered, smirking at me as he snatched the keys up.

Edward opened the front door for me, and the bitter cold was intense as it hit my face. I winced as I stepped outside, wishing I could stay in the comforting heat. If It was going to be this cold, I wished it would just fucking snow so at least it would be pretty.

I waited for Edward to lock up the front door and then raced down the steps towards my beautiful Audi. It felt odd getting into the passenger side of my car. With the exception of Edward, since he paid for the damn thing, there was no way I would ever let a_nyone_ else behind the wheel. It was my most prized possession.

I settled into the car and as soon as Edward turned on the ignition, I pressed the button to activate my seat warmer. He did the same, cranking up the heater as well.

"Don't go yet!" I instructed, putting my hand over the gearshift to shield it from Edward. "Let her warm up for a minute…"

He simply laughed, obliging my request and leaning back against his seat.

"So where are we going?" He asked, turning his head to look at me.

"Willies, I think. I'm in the mood for a good burger."

"Willies? That little shack looking place off of the freeway?"

"That would be the one." I answered, smiling at him. "Have you ever been?"

"…No."

"It's good."

"Is it…sanitary?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed at him.

"Yes. I've eaten there dozens of times. If it makes you feel better though you can ask to see their health department thingy that says they passed inspection."

"Hopefully they have it displayed."

"What's the matter? Are you too good for some casual burgers and beer?"

"No."

"Are you going to be lost without a salad fork and linen napkin?"

"Why do you always act like I'm so pretentious?"

"Because you are. Most of the time, at least."

"No I'm not."

"You were just sitting here acting like you're too good to eat at Willies."

"I never said that. I was simply asking if it was sanitary. You can't tell me that isn't questionable by outward appearance."

"You need to learn how to let loose, Edward. You don't ever have any fun."

"I have fun."

"No you don't. All you do is work, work, work. You don't even have any real friends. All of your 'friends' are really just business associates."

He was silent for a moment, looking at me thoughtfully.

"You're my friend."

"Aren't I technically business related?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I still like to think of you as my friend."

Really, I was just giving him a hard time. We may not be friends in a conventional sense, but nothing about Edward and I was conventional.

"I'm just kidding, hubby." I laughed, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "You're my friend. Friends with benefits, remember?"

"I believe it was _spouses _with benefits."

"Same diff. Come on, lets' go. I'm starving."

Edward's description of Willies had been quite accurate. It was indeed a little shack-like building. The place was rundown with rickety old tables and scuffed wood floors, but their food was phenomenal. I was totally in the mood for one of their juicy burgers and crispy onion rings. And more than just my craving, I was excited to take Edward there. I felt like I was doing my part to teach the man some culture. All he knew were fancy restaurants that served things like duck and snails. I wanted to see him sink his teeth into a big, juicy burger. It would be fun to see him out of his element and into _mine _for a change.

I'm sure the Audi looked ridiculous pulling up into the gravel makeshift parking lot that Willies offered, but I didn't care. I hopped out happily and smiled over at Edward as we briskly walked up to the door with our hands in our coat pockets.

"Are you going to be cool trading your top shelf whiskey for beer, Edward?" I teased. "That's all they have here."

"I know how to be casual, Isabella."

"Yeah, right. _You _and _Casual _are like antonyms."

"Clearly you don't know me at all." He answered with a smirk.

"Right, clearly…" I laughed amusedly.

He opened the door for me and I walked into the tiny building, inhaling deeply to absorb the aroma of fried, greasy, yumminess.

"Well, it does smell good." He commented from behind me.

We made our way up to the counter to order and Edward stopped, gazing up thoughtfully at the menu displayed above the registers like at a fast food place. I stood there beside him, honestly trying to be patient, but he was taking forever. The menu literally had like four different options, so I really didn't see what the problem was. It didn't help that the girl behind the register was staring at us, waiting for us to order. It made me feel pressured.

"Seriously, Edward? The menu is tiny. What do you want? Are you having a burger?"

"I guess. There doesn't seem to be much to choose from."

I rolled my eyes and pushed by him to get to the register.

"How can I help you?" The girl asked, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two of us.

"We're going to have two burger baskets, straight up. One with fries, the other with onion rings. And then we also want an order of fried mushrooms with ranch and…" I paused and quickly glanced over the beer options. "…two bud lights."

She nodded and punched a few keys on her register before looking back up at me.

"That's gonna be twenty two oh eight."

That was Edward's cue to step up dutifully beside me, fishing his credit card out of his wallet. The girl placed our beer bottles up on the counter and I took them, wandering off to find where I wanted to sit. I settled on a booth towards the back, wanting to be far away from the screaming kids up front going fucking ham over the stupid crane games that they haven't realized yet are totally rigged so you don't win.

I took my coat off and put it down next to me as I slid in to the right side of the booth. Edward was quick to follow me to the table and did the same with his coat as he sat down across from me. I pushed his beer towards him as I took a long sip of my own.

"I know this isn't exactly your scene, Daddy Warbucks. But wait until you try the food."

"Daddy Warbucks, huh?" He chuckled. "That's a new one."

I always had some new nickname up my sleeve that related to Edward's wealth and general uptightness.

"That one's mildly creepy, huh?"

"Slightly." He agreed with a nod, taking a sip of his beer.

I looked around the room, observing the décor around us. They had old fishing poles hung up on the walls, some old sports memorabilia, and some old western movie posters. It all went quite well with the country music playing in the background.

"My dad would love this place." I commented as I looked around. "I should definitely bring him here next time he comes to visit."

"When is that?"

"I don't know." I frowned. "I don't really know when the next time I'm going to see him is."

"You should invite him for Christmas."

"He asked me if I'd be coming home, but I wasn't sure if…I mean, I thought I should talk to you about it first."

This was an awkward question that I hadn't been sure how to bring up with Edward. How we were supposed to handle holidays? Was I expected to spend them with Edward? Or did he not care? Thanksgiving had been easier. Every year at Thanksgiving my dad took a fishing trip with his best friend, Billy, and then he would go to have a big dinner with the Blacks and the Clearwaters. When I was younger, while dad was off doing his own thing, it was court mandated that I would go see my mom every year. But as I got older, I stopped going to see her. I felt like I didn't know her, and it just wasn't fun for me. When I became friends with Alice, I started tagging along with her to have Thanksgiving with the Cullens. Therefore, it just made sense that I go with Edward to his parents' house. I'd spent the last few Thanksgivings with them anyway, and my dad wasn't expecting me to go home so it just worked out.

Christmas was a different story.

Since my very first Christmas, I had never missed one with my father. It was never anything special, just the two of us at my dad's little house, but it was special to _me. _When I was a kid, my dad always tried to make a big deal out of the holiday for my sake. We would go buy a tree together every year and stay up late watching Christmas movies while we decorated it. I think he felt guilty that I didn't have my mom around for those kinds of family things, because sometimes it was obvious that he was trying to compensate for it. One year he even insisted that we try making Christmas cookies together. We almost burned the house down.

I knew that I didn't want to spend Christmas without my dad, but I wasn't sure how to broach the subject with Edward. For all I knew, He could have already made plans. I didn't want to promise my dad I was coming home if Edward was going to have a problem with it, but I really didn't want him to insist otherwise.

"Invite him here. I was thinking we could host Christmas at our home. That way, we could both spend it with our families. My parents mentioned having us all to their house, and you could bring your father, but I thought he may be more comfortable coming to ours."

I wondered what my dad would say to that invitation. Every year our Christmas was always at his house. Although, maybe he wouldn't be surprised at my suggestion to change now that I was married. Regardless, I was sure that the thought of breaking tradition would still be at least a little sad for both of us.

"Yeah, I'll invite him."

"You don't want to?" he asked, misreading my tone and expression.

"No, no, of course I do. I don't ever want to miss a Christmas with my dad. It's just…we've always had Christmas at his house. I don't know if it will feel the same."

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. I just thought it would be best to spend the Holiday together. It would look incredibly strange to spend our first Christmas together apart."

"And I assume you wouldn't want to come to Forks with me then?"

Of course he wouldn't. Why would he? He barely knew my father and he wasn't in love with me. It was perfectly understandable that he would want to spend Christmas with his own family, not mine.

"I think my parents would be disappointed." He answered politely.

"Right. Well, yeah, I'll definitely invite him. I'm sure he'll come. We've never missed a Christmas together."

"You're close to your father." He stated; more of an observation than a question. "I can tell."

"I am." I agreed, nodding. "He's an amazing father. He's not all emotional and gushy, but neither am I. Some people are into that affectionate shit, but for me, he's like my perfect fit for a dad. My mom was never really around when I was growing up and my dad tried his hardest to make sure I never felt like I was missing out on anything because of it."

"He's a good man."He stated firmly, evidently really believing it.

"He is, but how would you know?" I asked, laughing slightly. "You've barely been around him."

I felt a little guilty at the realization that Edward and I had been married for six months now and he really hadn't been around him very much. My dad was probably the most important person in my life. I didn't see him often enough.

"That's true, but I knew the first time I met him that he's a good man. I'm very good at reading people."

"Yeah? Did they teach you that at law school?"

He smirked at me as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips for a sip.

"Something like that."

"Well you're right. My dad is a good man."

"And he means a lot to you. Your eyes light up when you talk about him."

He gazed into my eyes as he spoke but I quickly looked away, feeling awkward about his observation.

"I should spend more time with him. Now that you mention it, he probably feels strangely about me being married to someone he's only met a handful of times. I've spent time with your parents countless times."

"Well, that's different." He shrugged. "You had spent a lot of time with them before we were married. And they live locally."

"Still, I should at least go home to see him more often. I'm not as busy now that I'm not working. And I know that he misses me. He just doesn't say anything about not seeing me often because he doesn't want me to feel bad."

"I think going to see your father more often sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe I could even tag along sometime. I think I'd quite enjoy seeing where my lovely wife grew up."

I laughed and shook my head, imagining Edward in a fancy suit walking around my dad's tiny little house and driving his Aston Martin around Forks.

"I really don't thi-"

"Order seventy two!"

That was our number, so I moved to slide out of the booth.

"I've got it." Edward assured me, standing up before I managed.

He returned just moments later with our baskets full of big, juicy burgers and fried treats. I literally moaned when he placed mine in front of me, anxious to sink my teeth into it.

We ate in relative silence at first, making small talk here and there about random nonsense. We talked about the decorator we'd met with for a bit and how good we thought the house was going to look all decked out in Christmas decorations, which then led into conversation about the Christmas party. He had invited all of his usual business associates, most of whom I had already met several times. I wasn't excited about seeing any of them, with the exception of maybe Heidi. The person I dreaded seeing the most was a tossup between Rosalie and Alice.

I take that back. I definitely dreaded seeing Rosalie more.

Things with Rosalie were weird. I didn't have a reason to not like her. My only issue was that I could tell that she _really _didn't like _me_…and I had no idea why. It was a really shitty feeling to be so disliked by someone who really didn't even know me. And because of that, I could only assume that her disdain was actually for Edward. I just didn't know why. I already knew better than to just straight up ask him about it. That would get me nowhere. He never wanted to give me answers, and since we weren't actually in a _real_ relationship, I couldn't force it out of him. He didn't owe me anything.

On the Alice front, well, there really was no progress. Since the falling out at our attempted dinner with her and Jasper, we'd pretty much resorted to avoiding each other. It was sad. We had seen each other inevitably at her parents' house a few times, but neither one of us had made any effort to repair things. In truth, that was just as much my fault as it was hers. But at the same time, part of me felt like it was hopeless. She hated that I was married to her brother, and that wasn't changing…at least not now. She was so incredibly hurt that I'd married him at all, and she didn't seem capable of letting that go. If she couldn't move past that, I didn't see how our friendship could move forward either.

I really wasn't thrilled about seeing Alice at the Christmas party, because I knew it would be awkward, but I couldn't tell Edward that he couldn't invite his sister to our home. That wouldn't be my place even if Edward and I really were together. So, I would just have to suck it up and be friendly to her like I was every other time I'd seen her.

"You have mayonnaise on your face." Edward observed, chuckling.

I frowned and put my last bit of burger down.

"Where?" I demanded.

"The corner of your mouth…"

I picked up my napkin and swiped at the left side of my mouth.

"Did I get it?"

"No, other side."

I sighed and moved the napkin to the other side of my mouth, wiping furiously.

"You got it." He said, still laughing.

"Stop it…it's not that funny, Edward…"

"I'm sorry…" He breathed through his laughter, shaking his head. "It's just…it looked like…"

"Looked like what?" I snapped, irritated that he was still laughing at me.

"Nothing, nothing…" He said dismissively, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he tried to compose himself.

I raked my mind, trying to figure it out for myself. What in the world would be so funny about mayonnaise on my…

"Oh my God, Edward!" I shrieked, throwing my napkin at him as realization dawned on me. "That's disgusting!"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it." He answered, his stupid laughter finally dying down. "That's what it looked like. Well, maybe not so thick an-"

"STOP IT!"

"I'm sorry." He said, chuckling again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…I'm going to get more beer." I announced, sliding out of the booth and standing up.

"Not for me. I'm driving." He responded, as if I'd forgotten how we got there.

"So? You've only had one beer. You can have another. You'll be fine."

"I don't know…" He answered, looking hesitant.

"Don't be a pussy, Edward." I sighed. "It's two beers. You'll be fine. I'll drive if you really don't want to."

"Alright, one more."

We finished up our burgers, eating a little more slowly now, and lingered for a bit as we finished up our second beers. It seemed ridiculous now that I'd been apprehensive about going out to eat with him. What had I been worried about? We always got along perfectly fine, and this was no different. We were friends, and it was cool to be able to hang out with him just the two of us. It was also cool to see him in such a relaxed environment. He seemed relaxed himself, and that was rare and always enjoyable.

By the time we left, I was full and happy. I almost didn't want to admit to myself that I'd actually had fun with Edward, but I had. He'd surprised me too by being so down for burgers and beer. I'd expected him to bitch about the place, but he'd actually enjoyed it. It was a relief to know that he could kick back sometimes and just relax. Seeing him so uptight and formal all the time had a way of making him appear less…human. It was nice to know that he could be more down-to-earth with me every once in a while.

On the way home, I scrolled through the music on my phone to find something to listen to. One of my favorite features of my car was that I could play music over my Bluetooth connection and it would play through the speakers without the need for any type of cord to connect the phone to the car. It made me feel like a badass. No doubt.

I quickly decided that I was sick of my music and opted for Pandora, putting on some random station I'd created a long time ago. I laughed when _Word Up_ started playing over the speakers and turned the volume up.

"Really?_ This _is on your iPod?" Edward asked, glancing over at me.

"No, it's Pandora. And so what? You don't like overplayed eighties music?" I teased.

"No, this is definitely not my cup of tea."

I started dancing as best as I could while sitting down in my little car as the long intro to the song blared over my impressively awesome speakers. The drive home was actually quite peaceful. We zoomed down a curvy road that led basically through fields. We could have taken the freeway, but Edward insisted this way would be faster. At least there was no traffic. I absolutely _hated _sitting in traffic. That was one of the many things Edward and I had in common. Therefore, this pleasant little ride down a desolate road was much more desirable.

"_Yo,pretty ladies arooound the world…" _

I started to sing along obnoxiously as the words to the song began, making Edward laugh.

"_Got a weird thing to show you so tell all the boys and girls…"_

"Really, Isabella?"

"_Tell your brotha, your sista, and your maaamma toooo…"_

"Why do you even know the words to this?"

"_Cuz they're about to throw down, and you'll know just what to do…"_

"Do you have to _scream _the words opposed to just singing them like a normal person?"

"_Wave your hands in the aiiirrr like you don't carrreee…"_

"Put your arms down, Isabella. You look ridiculous."

"_Gliiiiiide by the people as they stop to look and stare…"_

"Are you going to do this through the whole song?"

"_Do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick maaaama…" _

"Can you at least sit still?"

"_Come on baby tell me what's the word…word up!"_

"Isab- Shit!"

The sound of screeching tires snapped me out of my little karaoke session _real _quick. I turned my attention back to the road in front of us and instinctively outstretched my arms in front of me to brace myself, realizing then that the screeching tires were coming from my precious little car.

A car had pulled out in front of us off of a side street, apparently not seeing us coming around the bend of the curvy road we were on. The problem was that the car had turned out right in front of us, and we were barreling towards it at a solid fifty five miles per hour.

"Edward!" I screamed, as if he didn't see the vehicle in front of us.

Of course he saw the car. He had his foot slammed on the brake, but it didn't appear that we were going to have time to stop regardless. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as we barreled closer and closer to the car. I winced, trying to prepare for impact. Edward's arm flew out in front of me, his hand splaying out across my chest to hold me back and keep me from being thrown forward into the dashboard. One of my hands gripped his forearm in front of me while I simply held the other one up in front of me, as if that was going to shield me or something.

Somehow in the panic of all this, Edward had the instinct and reflex to swerve into the other lane, which would have been oncoming traffic if we weren't lucky enough to be on such a remote road. The car finally screeched to a stop moments later. I lurched forward a bit, but Edward's strong arm in front of me did a pretty good job holding me in place.

Once we were at a complete stop, the first thing I did was reach forward to turn the volume of the music all the way down so we were left in silence. We were both breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Edward demanded, though his eyes remained locked on the road in front of us.

"Yes." I squeaked, looking over at him.

His nostrils were flared, his jaw was clenched, and his whole body just looked tense. We sat there for a few long moments in silence before he eased off the brake and slowly pulled the car off on the side of the road. The he shifted into park, unfastened his seatbelt, and opened the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked, watching him.

"Get out. Please." He answered calmly.

I hesitated a moment before following his lead and unfastening my seatbelt. I opened my door and slowly stood, walking around to meet him where he stood in front of the car. He ran his fingers through his hair, exhaling a deep breath that was visible in the cold air.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"No."

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Edward, calm down. We're fine. Neither one of us is hurt, the car isn't hurt…we're fine…"

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, looking me up and down as if searching for evidence that I was lying.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"I told you I shouldn't have had that second beer."

"What? Edward, that had nothing to do with it. That car shouldn't have pulled out in front of us. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I was speeding."

"Barely. Even if you were going fifty, that guy shouldn't have pulled out in front of us. He didn't stop at the stop sign. He didn't see us coming around the curve back there."

"You drive." He instructed, walking around me towards the passenger side of the car.

I hesitated just a moment before I obeyed and walked around to the driver side, slipping into the seat. The car was still running and warm, which I was thankful for. I shut my door and put on my seatbelt, glancing over at Edward. He was gazing out the window, his left leg bouncing anxiously. I was surprised that he was so worked up over this. Nothing had even happened. We were fine, our car was fine, and the other car was fine. There was nothing at all to be upset over.

"Edward, you really need to calm down. Look, if either of us did anything wrong it was me. I was dancing and singing and being stupid. I was probably distracting you. But either way, it was really the other car's fault. He should have stopped and waited to make sure there were no cars coming."

"Let's just go home." He answered, keeping his gaze fixed out the window.

We rode in complete silence the rest of the way home and with each passing minute, the more I felt like Edward was really being irrational about the situation. I'd _almost _been in a wreck several times in my life. But we _hadn't _been in a wreck. Everything was perfectly fine, and Edward was acting like someone had died.

The more I thought about it, the more strongly I started to feel that there had to be something more to Edward's reaction than the obvious. Our close encounter had startled me as well, but there was no reason for Edward to be so shaken up about it unless there was more to the situation than I knew. The whole way home he didn't say a word. He was restless, constantly shifting in his seat, and I could practically feel the tension radiating off of him. He kept his gaze focused out that window, looking like his mind was far away from that moment.

It didn't take me long to begin suspecting that Edward had been in some type of car accident before.

In high school I had a friend who was in a terrible accident our sophomore year. After that, she was incredibly skittish in a car. Whether she was driving or someone else, it gave her terrible anxiety. Edward wasn't quite that bad, but if he had been in an accident, it could have been a long time ago. Maybe he wasn't as skittish about being in cars in general, but it could certainly account for his bizarre behavior after out little scare.

So, I decided to ask him about it. However, because I had no idea how he would answer, I decided to wait until we were getting out of the car. In fact, I waited until we were out of the car and I was standing in the cold waiting for him to unlock the front door.

"Edward, have you been in a car accident?" I asked, straight up.

He waited a few long moments to answer me as he fished for his keys in his pocket, but he didn't look at me.

"Yes." He finally responded, confirming my suspicions.

I was partially surprised that he answered me. Usually when I asked questions he just brushed me off or answered me cryptically.

"Was it bad?"

"Yes." He answered again as he slipped his key into the lock and turned it.

He stepped inside and I followed behind him, gently closing the door behind me and locking it. We slipped off our coats and hung them in the coat closet in silence. Part of my mind was warning me that my next question was probably rudely intrusive, but I couldn't contain my curiosity. I already had so many questions about Edward. There were already so many mysteries between us. For once, I wanted to ask him a personal question and I wanted him to answer. For once, I wanted it be that simple.

"Did somebody die?"

He still wasn't looking at me.

"Yes."

"Who?" I asked before I could stop myself.

He finally turned to look at me then and the man before me was not the one I'd had dinner with. He wasn't the laid back and playful Edward that I'd so cherished getting a glimpse of earlier on. This was the hard, guarded, impassive Edward that he projected to the world. This was business-man Edward. This was the cold Edward.

"If I'd wanted someone to share my life story with, Isabella, I wouldn't have purchased myself a trophy wife."

His words hurt. Maybe because they were true, or maybe because he was referring to me like a piece of property. Either way, it was a sharp reminder that Edward didn't owe me anything. He wasn't obligated to give me any answers, and it wasn't my place to ask questions.

I stood there staring at him dumbly as he turned to walk up the stairs, and there was no way that I was following him. I felt like he'd just spit on me. I didn't really have anything to say to him. What _could_ I say?

I decided to put my coat back on and go out back for a cigarette, hoping that would help me clear my head. Surprisingly, it actually did.

As I smoked, my emotions pretty much did a one-eighty. My first reaction to Edward's harsh comment was to back away with my tail between my legs like a puppy that had done something wrong. I felt guilty for prying into his business. I didn't want to nag him for information that he didn't want to give me. That wasn't the first time I'd asked him a question that he didn't want to answer, and I kind of felt bad about it.

But then I remembered that Edward and I were supposed to be friends; he had said so himself. I hadn't _nagged_ him about anything. It's not like I'd gone on and on about anything. I'd simply asked him a question. Aren't friends supposed to be able to do that? Aren't friends supposed to be able to discuss life together? I thought so, but when I inquired something about Edward's life, he jumped down my throat for it. He made me feel like shit.

Thankfully, it didn't take me too long to realize that I shouldn't feel that way. I personally felt like I'd always been beyond considerate of his feelings when he clearly didn't want to talk about things. When I asked him about Rosalie and he didn't want to go there, I let it go. When I asked about his stupid journals and he brushed me off, I let it go. I wouldn't have had any problem letting the car accident go either, but he didn't even give me the chance. I didn't even have to ask him twice before he shut me down and reminded me that I was nothing but a purchase to him. Had he lied about being my friend? It was almost ironic how he'd been so adamant about not wanting me to feel like a prostitute on our honeymoon when he'd pretty much called me just that.

A _purchase. _

I shook my head at Edward's ridiculousness as I put my cigarette out and went back inside. I definitely wasn't going to hide from him like that stupid little puppy I'd felt like earlier, so I headed right for the stairs. I walked through the halls upstairs, headed towards the soft light that shone through the crack of our partially open bedroom door. I found Edward in there, sitting at the small desk and typing away on his laptop. I wondered why he was in our room instead of down in his office, but because I didn't really want to speak to him, I wasn't going to ask.

I barely even glanced at Edward as I walked right past him and into the bathroom. I closed the doors behind me, maybe a little more roughly than necessary, and started taking my clothes off to get in the shower. The warm water was especially relaxing after being outside in the cold. I stood under the spray for a while, simply letting it relax my muscles, before I actually got to work scrubbing myself down. Being fresh and clean always made any situation feel better, so I did feel a little bit calmer when I stepped out of the shower and patted myself dry.

I wrapped my towel around myself, tucking it under my arm, as I stepped up to my side of the vanity to complete the rest of my nightly cosmetic routine. I had finished brushing my teeth and was rubbing moisturizer onto my face when one of the doors clicked open and Edward stepped into the steamy room.

"Hey…" He said a bit hesitantly, looking at me sheepishly.

"Hey." I answered dully, not bothering to look at him.

"I'm sorry about what I said…downstairs…" He said softly, lingering there in the doorway.

I didn't need to ask what he was referring to.

"It's okay. It was true."

"You weren't a purchase."

"Wasn't I? You pay me to go places with you and have sex with you and look pretty on your arm. Does that make me a purchase? Or just an employee?"

"Neither."

"No? A prostitute maybe?"

"We've already had that discussion. You know that's not the way I look at you."

"I wouldn't know how you look at me. Everything is always such a big secret with you."

"No, it's not. You just have a way of always asking about the few things I really don't want to discuss."

"Why? Because you're afraid to feel vulnerable?"

"I don't want to feel at all. That's the reason I proposed this arrangement to you in the first place. That's what I meant when I snapped at you downstairs."

"You're human, Edward. You're crazy if you think you can cut yourself off from feeling anything at all."

"Maybe I am."

"I thought you and I were friends. You said so yourself earlier, before dinner."

"…we are."

"You sure aren't acting like it."

"We are friends, Isabella. It's just…"

"What?"

"I wasn't counting on that. That's not at all what I signed up for. You didn't like me. That was one of the reasons I thought you'd be right for this arrangement. You didn't like me, and you certainly didn't want to be my friend."

I scoffed, shaking my head at him.

"Is that what you want, then? You'd rather me go back to not liking you? If you don't want to be my fucking friend, Edward, that's fine…"

As I spoke I stormed across the bathroom and into the closet, gathering up my clothes piece by piece. I continued speaking but it was more yelling now. I wanted him to hear me.

"…There's a perfectly fine guest room I could have been sleeping in all this time. I don't even know why I've been sleeping in your fucking bed if you're so fucking afraid of closeness. Or maybe it's just a matter of convenience. Easy access to the pretty little trophy wife you bought yourself, huh? Is that it? You know, I don't even _want _to be your friend! You're just a big asshole, Edward. And you're right! I _don't _like you. I don't know why I thought for even one minute that we could have this stupid little arrangement and be friends at the same time. You're not even capable of having a friend! People think I'm a bitch, but you're the biggest bitch of all. You're cold attitude is just as cold as your heart, _if _you even have one. And I don't eve-"

"Bella."

That was enough to stop my rambling. Edward _never _called me Bella. It was always Isabella.

I slowly turned around to find him standing in the doorway of the closet behind me, his hands gripping the door frame on either side of his beautiful head. His expression was almost bashful, which was perplexing. I'd never seen him look like that before.

"You just called me Bella."

"I _do _want to be your friend. I never said that I don't. Don't twist my words."

"Friends ask each other questions. Every time I ask you something or want to know something about you, you get all defensive and secretive."

"I never said I was a _good _friend."

"Good, because you're not."

"I'm out of practice. It's been a long time since I had a real friend."

"Well so far, you're doing a really shitty job."

He laughed softly, which was borderline annoying. I wanted him to take me seriously.

"Be patient with me…" He requested, his green eyes pleading as he looked into mine.

I started to wonder then if Edward was bi-polar like his sister, because his mood swings were giving me whiplash. How could he go from icy, impassive Edward to this vulnerable version is such a short amount of time?

"Why are you always so resistant to let me in on your life? What are you so afraid of?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You're being slightly hypocritical."

"Excuse me?"

"There are things in your life I've asked you about that you haven't wanted to discuss with me."

"…and so I simply told you that. You didn't have to jump my shit for asking a simple question."

"I know. And for that, I'm sorry."

I sighed and dropped the clothes I'd been gathering, tightening my towel around myself as I shoved by him and marched out of the closet.

"Just forget it. This whole thing is stupid."

"I really didn't int-"

"Edward, forget it." I reiterated. "I won't ask you any more questions."

We spent the remainder of our night in the bedroom, but in silence. Basically, we ignored each other like children. Well, I ignored him. I got the vibe that he wanted to talk, because he kept looking at me, but I really had nothing to say. I wasn't pissed anymore, but I wasn't going to dwell on the situation. We weren't in a real relationship, so I really had no interest in fighting like we were. I didn't want him to have a reason to accuse me of nagging, so I would just keep my lips sealed on the whole thing.

I finished getting ready for bed and changed into some comfy, warm pajamas before settling into the cozy bed to watch some T.V. Edward stayed at the desk, sitting in front of his laptop. There was a slight tension in the air, but I wasn't going to let it get me down. I watched my recorded shows in peace, pretending Edward wasn't even there. When I'd watched everything I wanted to watch, I turned the T.V. off and then my lamp and turned onto my side to face the wall, pulling the covers up around me. I considered saying goodnight to Edward, but I didn't want to break my silence. I was tired of his mixed signals, so I would just distance myself from the situation altogether.

Being married to Edward was definitely not what I expected it to be. I wasn't sure if it was better or worse or if it was even either of those. It just…was. Maybe it wasn't what I expected because I didn't really know what to expect. But like he said, I had never counted on being friends with him. I thought we would live as roommates and spend time together strictly when he wanted me to attend an event with him. I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed spending time with Edward, even when it wasn't required. We were so alike. And being around him, most of the time, was just…_easy_. It reminded me of the way things used to be with Alice. I thought that he felt the same way about being my friend, but his mood swings had me always questioning that.

I was still awake when I heard Edward putting his laptop away and then felt him get into bed next to me. The bed moved a bit as he settled in and then I heard him sigh behind me once he'd evidently managed to find a suitable position. We lay there in silence for a long time and I kept my eyes closed, willing sleep to overtake me, but it just wasn't happening. I was too awake. Under normal circumstances, I would have asked Edward to play twenty questions with me like I always did. But I'd learned my lesson. I wasn't asking questions anymore.

"Will you please roll over and look at me?" Edward eventually spoke.

"Why?"

"Because I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Please…?"

I sighed and opened my eyes as I rolled over to face him, my eyes adjusting to see him in the darkness.

"What, Edward?"

"I'm not good at letting people in. I don't like it. I haven't had any real friends in a very long time, but I've been okay with that. I told you a long time ago that I had no problem being alone. That's the way I've always liked it. Over the last six months, however, I've realized how foolish I was to think that we could live in the same home and sleep in the same bed and that I could still keep you shut out. You _are_ a part of my life. That's just a fact. And when I say that I never intended to be your friend or that I never intended for you to actually matter to me, it's not because I don't _enjoy _being your friend. I do enjoy you. And I do want to be your friend. And you do matter to me."

I was quite for a few moments, letting myself absorb what he was saying.

"Well, just for the record, I didn't plan to be your friend either." I answered.

He smiled and nodded.

"I know that."

"But you're right. It was stupid to think that we could live like this and not grow close to each other in some fashion."

"This is a _very_ weird situation. I realize that now."

"It is. It's kind of…hard to keep our relationship to each other defined."

"Well, I can assure you of one thing. You've never been a purchase. You're not an employee. You're not a prostitute."

"Thank you."

"Up until this point I've always referred to you as my business partner, but I don't quite think that applies as well anymore."

"It doesn't?"

"No. That seems a little too…cold, considering the bond I feel we've formed."

"So what am I to you then?"

"You're my friend, plain and simple."

I laughed, shaking my head at him.

"Edward, we are _so _not plain and simple."

"I know. But we both know the ends and outs of the other aspects that complicate our relationship with each other. My point is that at the end of the day, you are my friend. It would be foolish to act as if the situation were any different. Our relationship is one of a kind, Isabella. I don't think we could define it even if we sat here all night trying. It just is what it is, and I'm sorry for being rude to you downstairs."

"To be honest, I probably blew it out of proportion. I shouldn't have been asking you all those questions."

"No, you were right. Friends should be able to ask questions. I don't want you to be afraid to ask me anything."

"It's not like you're going to answer, though…"

"Maybe not, but I promise I won't be rude to you about it next time."

"Thanks."

"So are we good now?"

"Yeah, we're good."

"I know I'm not the most…_emotional_ person, but your friendship really does mean something to me. In truth, you're my only real friend."

"I already knew that…"

"Oh, did you?" He chuckled amusedly.

"Of course I did. The only other people you interact with are your family, your colleagues, and the people that work for you. You don't hang out with anybody just for the sake of socializing."

"That's a fair assessment."

"So if I'm your only friend…does that make me your _best_ friend?" I teased with a grin.

"I suppose it does."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Interesting? That's all I get? You're not going to give me some sappy speech about how we're best friends for life?"

"Well, I guess you're _kind _of my best friend too. You have to share that position with Holly."

"I have to share? That doesn't seem very fair. You don't have to share."

"I can't help it that I have friends and you don't. It's not my fault that people don't like you."

"Right…" He laughed.

"So you and Holly can be co-best friends. Because I utilize you for different things."

"Oh yeah? What do you utilize me for?"

"Well, Holly is for when I'm in the mood to have fun and be crazy. And _you _are for when I'm in a more laid-back mood…or when I want to have sex."

He laughed, smiling that amused smirk at me.

"We both have incredibly strong and similar personalities, Isabella. I'm sure this won't be the last time we butt heads."

"Isabella?" I frowned. "What happened to Bella?"

"I think I still prefer Isabella."

I sighed and scooted over closer to him until I was close enough to wrap my arm loosely around his neck.

"Friends?"

"Best friends." He corrected, leaning forward to kiss me.

I kissed him back softly, smiling against his full lips. In that moment, in the darkness, I felt affection for him. I allowed myself to be vulnerable for just a moment, which was rare.

"You are my best friend, Edward. I trust you. When you look at me, I feel like you understand me on a level that nobody else really has before. I guess I just…feel like you've got my back."

"I do."

"I have your back, too."

"I know."

I grinned and nudged him to roll onto his back so I could slide on top of him, straddling his hips.

"You know, ninety-five percent of the time, I really like being married to you."

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "Because I'd say more like eighty-five percent…for me, at least."

"You're such a fucking asshole…" I laughed, shaking my head as I leaned over to kiss him.

.

.

.

.

Sex always made me sleepy. It was like a natural sedative for me. It was just so…_relaxing_. So I had no trouble at all falling asleep after a quick little romp with Edward. It was kind of strange I suppose to make a declaration of our friendship and then follow it up with sex, but our relationship _was_ strange. So I guess it worked. It was kind of like make up sex…but between friends. Yeah. Strange.

At some point in the night, I had one of those weird dreams where you know that you're dreaming and you're somehow able to just tell yourself to wake up and you do. I was running around Las Vegas with Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler and somehow we ended up being chased into the Hoover Dam by some blue Indians trying to shoot us with arrows. I was freaking out, thinking I was going to drown in the Dam, when I realized that I was quite aware that I was dreaming. So, I willed myself to wake up. And sure enough…I did.

"…not gonna shoot me with your stupid arrows…" I mumbled, rubbing my hand over my face.

"What?"

I squinted my eyes open to see Edward awake and looking over at me. The lamp on his nightstand was on and he was sitting up, writing away in his stupid diary. I sighed and looked over at the alarm clock. It was almost two O'clock in the morning.

"Why are you awake…?" I asked groggily.

"I couldn't sleep."

Between the two of us, somebody always seemed to be suffering from insomnia. We had to be the most sleep challenged couple on the planet. In fact, Edward barely ever slept at all.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just couldn't sleep."

I sighed and pushed myself up to sit up, pushing my hair out of my face.

"Don't be stupid, Edward. You only write in that stupid diary when you're upset about something or when you have anxiety or whatever…"

"Did the light wake you?" He asked, avoiding the topic.

"No, I had a weird dream."

"What about?"

"Don't change the subject, Edward. Are you still upset about what happened in the car?"

"No. Well, not exactly."

"Are you upset about what it reminded you of?"

"Just go back to sleep, Isabella."

I rolled my eyes and lay back down, snuggling into my blankets and pillows again.

"Might as well…I don't know how I'm supposed to help you if I can't even ask you about it…"

"I thought we were over that." He said, looking over at me with a frown.

"We are, we are…but really, is it going to do me any good to ask?"

He was quite for a moment, turning back to his diary with a thoughtful expression.

"I think talking about it may just make the anxiety worse."

"Really? You don't think it would help to get it out?"

"That's what the journal is for."

"Is it helping?"

"It usually does…" He sighed.

"Well, I'd offer to have sex with you, because that always relaxes _me_…but we already did that."

"Sex doesn't relax me." He said as he closed the diary. "If anything, it just energizes me more."

"You're so weird."

He pushed the blankets off of his lap and got up, walking into the bathroom. I knew that he was going into the closet to put the diary away. The fact that he was so paranoid about keeping it locked up all the time only increased my curiosity as to what was in them. What was he hiding?

I yawned as Edward reappeared in the bedroom and came back over to the bed. He turned the lamp off and slid back into bed with a heavy sigh. I watched him settle in and then closed my eyes, hoping I could go back to sleep easily. Unfortunately, I felt wide awake now. I was thinking about those stupid journals and Edward's mystery car accident. Why did he always have to be so secretive? I _hated _feeling left out of the loop on things.

"Do you want to play twenty questions?" He asked quietly into the darkness.

I laughed and opened my eyes. I could really only see his silhouette in the dark.

"Grown to love my little game, huh?"

I was always the one to suggest twenty questions, so this was a first.

"I guess you've rubbed off on me."

"Yeah, well, for once…I'm not really in the mood for twenty questions. Not after tonight."

"Alright." He sighed, shifting and making the bed move.

"Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight."

I snuggled into my pillow and tightened the blankets around me, closing my eyes again. I tried to clear my mind and avoid thinking about all the things I wanted to know about Edward. Sometimes I felt like we were so close and I knew him so well, and sometimes I felt like I didn't know the man at all. He was so Jekyll and Hyde. Sometimes it seemed like I knew one Edward but that there was also another one that was a complete stranger.

It was obvious that there were a lot of things about Edward and his past that I didn't know. That was to be expected; considering we hadn't been friends for _that _long and we weren't _really _together. Of course I didn't know everything about him. But at the same time, it seemed to be all of the major things that I didn't know. It was always the serious things that he shut me out on and wouldn't answer my questions about.

But maybe I was a hypocrite. There were things that I shut him out on too.

We lay there in silence for a long while. I could tell that he wasn't sleeping either. Not only was his breathing not heavy and even, but he kept moving around and sighing. I kind of felt bad for him. He may not have confided in me about a lot of things, but I did know that he suffered with some degree of anxiety. I could tell that it was bothering him at the moment, and clearly the whole writing thing hadn't done the trick this time.

I sighed and opened my eyes.

"Roll onto your stomach." I instructed as I scooted over closer to him.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it, Edward."

"Fine."

He sighed and flipped over onto his stomach, his head turned to face me.

"No, look the other way."

He obliged and turned his head so he was facing the other direction as he lifted his arms to grip his pillow. I kept scooting over closer to him until I was right beside him, on my side and facing him. I lifted my hand and hesitated just a moment before moving it up into his hair. I gently combed my fingers through its thick, silkiness. Edward really had great hair. It was so soft and full and fluffy. I repeated the action a few times, lightly scratching my fingernails over his scalp.

"Mm…" He hummed contently. "That feels nice…"

"I know." I smiled. "When I was younger, right after my mom left, I used to have these crazy nightmares of being abandoned or whatever. It was stupid, but anyway, I could never go back to sleep afterwards. My dad would let me watch T.V. with him downstairs. Sometimes he'd just talk to me, because you know…that helps me sleep. And sometimes he'd comb my hair like this and I'd just knock right out. It's relaxing."

"Yes, it is." He agreed, speaking softly.

"I know you're…anxious about something. I thought maybe you could use some help getting to sleep. The whole writing thing didn't seem to do you much good."

"Thank you."

I settled in to get as comfortable as I could and continued running my fingers through his hair and lightly scratching his head. I was wide awake by then anyway, so I figured I could be nice and try to help him out.

My arm started to get tired, because I went at it for a while, but I could hear his breathing start to even out just as I was about to give up. I whispered to him experimentally a few moments later and he didn't answer, so I figured he was asleep.

It was kind of strange to see Edward sleep. Normally, he went to bed after me and woke up before I did. Seeing him sleep was seeing him vulnerable in a way, and obviously that was rare. I smiled and leaned over to kiss his muscular back, right between his shoulder blades.

"Goodnight, Edward." I whispered into the darkness.

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**A/N:**

**If you didn't read the note at the top, I'm splitting this chapter in two. I didn't intend all of the dialogue I'd planned to get so lengthy. So, I'm a little worried this chapter was a little too lacking in action, but because it's split…it will be in part 2.**

**People have been asking again about an EPOV. Sorry, but this is Bella's story. I want to keep Edward elusive and mysterious. He needs to be. I'm considering a couple EPOV outtakes, but it will be at the end if it happens. **

**Some of you have been asking about a posting schedule. The last 3 updates (since I started again) have all been every Wednesday, so I'm going to TRY to keep up with that.**

**In other news, I really hate the summary for this story. If somebody loves me enough to take the time to write a better one, because I SUCK at it for some reason…I'll take a lemon request for our little couple ;) you can pick a scene/situation/however you want to see them get down and dirty…provided that it fits in with the story, which shouldn't be too hard to make it work. **

**Oh, before you guys start hounding me for answers on the car accident, you WILL get them in time…from Edward. I promise.**

**Jenna ( JennaRayFF)**


	17. Christmas As A Cullen Part 2

**A/N: I do not own any Character names nor do I own **_**Twilight**_** or anything pertaining to it.**

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"Isabella, _get up_."

"No." I groaned, snuggling further into my little womb of blankets and pillows.

"I've been up for four hours. I'm not going to wait around for you all day."

My foot was sticking out from under the covers, at the end of the bed, and I felt Edward's hand grab it and tug at it.

"Stooooppppppp…" I whined.

This had been going on for like a half hour now. Edward kept pestering me to get up, but it was cold and I was _so _comfortable. Though, in the more rational part of my mind, I knew that I needed to. We had a lot to do. It was three days before Christmas and, being the queen of procrastination, I hadn't purchased any gifts for anyone yet. Edward said he had a last minute gift to pick up as well, so we had plans to go to the mall. I was dreading it, because I knew it would be maddeningly busy, but I knew I'd brought it upon myself for putting the task off for so long. And Christmas shopping was just the beginning of the forthcoming craziness that awaited us. The next morning my dad would be arriving from Forks to spend Christmas with us. Then that night was our Christmas party, and then it would already be Christmas Eve.

Time was going by so fast.

"Okay, okay, I'll make you a deal." I relented, rolling over onto my back to look up at Edward where he stood at the foot of the bed.

"I have to make a deal with you to get you out of bed?"

"Just go turn on the hot water in the shower for me."

"And you'll get up?"

"Yes, I'll get up."

"You are so dramatic sometimes…" He grumbled as he turned, walking into the bathroom.

I waited until I heard the water pattering in the shower and Edward confirmed that it was warm before I dared to throw the blankets off of me. I hopped out of bed and hastily squirmed my way out of my panties and T shirt while en route to the bathroom. I darted by Edward and ran into the shower, where I hummed contently in response to the hot water on my skin.

Satisfied that I was up and that I was going to _stay_ up, Edward went back downstairs and left me to get ready. Edward had regulations about my appearance all the time, but I knew that I was supposed to look especially prim and proper to go out in public with him. They were _his _stupid rules, so yeah; I may have taken a decent chunk of time just to be spiteful. I took my time with my make-up and styled my hair so it was sleek and straight while still volumous, tossed over one shoulder. Thankfully, the expensive haircuts I could now afford came along with stylists who had shown me the proper way to achieve whatever look I was going for. That definitely came in handy.

Seeing as we were just going to the mall, I figured jeans should be acceptable, as long I wore my nice ones. I paired them with a blue sweater and did a quick once-over in the full length mirror, determining that I looked decent enough. I didn't see why my appearance was of so much importance anyway. Girls really only dress up to impress other girls, and as long as I was with Edward, I was pretty sure no girls would be paying any attention to me.

Downstairs, I found Edward in the formal living room. He was pacing slowly back and forth in front of the massive windows, looking out over our backyard that was gorgeously dusted in a thin layer of snow as he talked on the phone.

"Well, he's exaggerating. It really wasn't a big deal."

"It was more of a trial experiment. At least, that's how I looked at it."

"No, I don't think it's a good idea at all."

"No, especially not for you. He's…difficult. He thought that I was unreasonable in my demands. I can't begin to imagine what he'd think of your intensity."

"Let him have it, then. Trust me, you're not interested."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, looking exasperated.

"There's no money to be made there, Rosalie. Don't call me for my advice if you're not going to take it. Don't waste my time."

_Rosalie?_ Why the hell was Edward talking to that witch?

"I don't have time to deal with your attitude right now. I have to go. I'll see you at the party."

With that he hung up, turning to face me and appraise my appearance. I noted that the way he spoke to Rosalie was far more informal than he normally spoke to people. The way he talked to her reminded me of the way he talked to me, which was a little weird.

"You look nice." He commented as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Why were you talking to _Rosalie_?" I asked, saying her name like it was something disgusting.

Well, it was.

"She called to get my advice on some business."

"I can't stand that woman."

"I know." He smirked. "…not that you have a reason…"

"I don't have a reason? She's a total bitch to me, Edward."

"Don't take it personally. Her hostility is directed at me and simply projected on you."

"So fucking what? That doesn't change the fact that she's a bitch. And if she's so hostile towards you, why is she calling you for advice? That sounds pretty friendly to me."

"True, but she tries."

"Tries what…?"

"To be hostile. She tries very hard to hate me." He said with a shrug, as if that was a completely normal thing to say. "Come on, let's go. I have a feeling this is going to turn into an all day ordeal."

.

.

.

.

I convinced Edward to stop at my favorite little bakery on our way to the mall so I could get some breakfast and a big ass coffee. He yelled at me for getting crumbs inside of the Range Rover.

I told him to suck it.

He said he would if only I'd let him.

"I have _no_ idea what to get my father…" I complained as we entered through the sliding doors into the mall. "He's like the hardest person ever to shop for."

Actually, I imagined that Edward would be the hardest person ever to shop for. Thankfully, we had agreed not to get each other Christmas presents. When the slightly awkward conversation came up, I told him that it would just be ridiculous for him to buy me a present when he'd already given me pretty much everything I could ever think to ask for. He said that if he wasn't getting me a present then I obviously couldn't get him one either. And that was the end of that.

"Well, did you have a particular store in mind to find something for him?"

"No. Do they have a fishing store here?"

"From the sound of it, your father fishes all the time. It's not a complicated sport. He probably already has everything he could want."

"True. I got him a new fishing pole last year."

"What else does he like to do?"

"Umm…well, he likes to eat."

Edward laughed, looking over at me to flash me that drool-worthy smile.

"I'm sure your father is a bit more dynamic than that, Isabella."

I groaned, looking around at the stores surrounding us in hope of finding some inspiration.

"Where did you need to go? We can go there first. It will give me more time to think."

"Alright" he agreed, gesturing which way we needed to go.

We started walking in silence while I raked my brain for ideas of what to get my father. Every year seemed to get harder. I felt like I'd used up all my good ideas. I was going to have to start repeating them soon. On the bright side, at least I didn't have to come up with a whole bunch of gift ideas. I'd never been happier that I didn't have very many friends.

"So," I started after a while as I followed Edward. "You already did almost all of your Christmas shopping then? When?"

"Well, it's not like it was complicated. I had Veronica to help me, after all. She sent gift backsets to all of my associates and picked up a Chanel bag for Alice. Normally I try to get gifts for my family myself, but Alice is so fashion oriented that it's hard for me to shop for her as a man."

_Ugh…Veronica. _I personally thought that the name was appropriately trashy for Edward's skanky secretary…or assistant, maybe. I wasn't sure exactly what her job was. I just knew that she was always all over Edward's dick while she did it.

"I could have helped you with a gift for Alice." I answered with a frown, a little put off that he'd rather ask _Veronica _to do it.

"I know, but you and Alice aren't on the best terms."

"She didn't have to know that I helped you. I'm not _that _fashion retarded…"

He looked over at me curiously, a slight trace of a smirk touching the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that you'd really care."

I shrugged, keeping my gaze ahead of me though I could still feel his eyes on me.

"It's fine. What did you get everyone else?"

"Well, I got my parents tickets for an Alaskan cruise, and I ordered Emmett some fancy new television that he'd been dropping hints about all year. And that was pre-"

"Oh my gosh, that's _perfect_!" I gasped, feeling my eyes widen as I looked over at him.

"What?"

"I'll get my dad a T.V. for Christmas! That's perfect! The one he has is _such _a piece of shit. He'd love a nice, new big one with HD to watch his baseball on!"

"Well, good, I'm glad I could give you some inspiration." He answered, chuckling softly.

"I should probably order it from the electronics store in Forks, huh? That way I can have it delivered right to his house and they can set it up and everything. On Christmas morning I can just wrap up a picture of it or something. They should have pictures of it online."

"I'm sure he'll love it. Ah, here's the store I was looking for." He said, gesturing over somewhere to our right.

I looked over to see what store it was as we veered off in that direction, doing a double take when I saw that it was a toy store. What the hell were we doing at a toy store?

"…a toy store?" I asked, clearly confused.

He grinned, seemingly amused by my reaction, and put his hand on my back to guide me inside. The store was huge. There were little electronic gadgets going off everywhere, creating chaotic noise all around us. The entire back wall was filled with massive bins and shelves of stuffed animals, ranging from tiny to just as big as me. There was also an entire aisle dedicated to candy, which immediately caught my attention.

I was fucking feigning for some sour gummy worms.

"What are we doing here?"

"We're here to buy a gift. Or…gifts, I suppose."

"For who…?"

"Cecilia's children."

I whipped around to face him, completely surprised.

"We're buying gifts for Cici's kids?"

"Well, I do every year. I don't see a reason to stop now."

It's not that I was surprised in a _bad_ way. I was just surprised in general. I'd never even met Cecilia's sons, so I definitely hadn't thought to include them on my Christmas shopping list. And because I'd never met them, I was surprised that Edward had. For all I knew up until that point, he'd never met them either.

"You buy them gifts every year?"

"Since she started working for me, yes."

"Why? I mean, not that it's a bad thing. It's actually…really cool. I'm just surprised. I didn't know that you even knew her kids."

"Cecilia and I are close. You know that."

"I do know that. But I didn't know that you were close to her kids."

"I'm not. But Cecilia works very hard for us. Sometimes I feel bad knowing that I take time away that she could be spending with her family."

"We pay her well, though. And she likes her job. If it wasn't time spent working for us, it would be time spent working elsewhere."

"I know that. And we do pay her well, but I'm sure it's still a struggle for her to support three young boys. She loves them with a passion I've seen very few times in my life. I know she wishes that she could give them the world. So if I can help her give them a joyful Christmas, I'm more than happy to do so."

I just stared at him for a long moment, giving myself a chance to digest this information. Every time I thought I had Edward figured out so perfectly, he threw something like this at me that made me completely reassess the kind of person I had pegged him as.

"You do this every year?"

"Yes."

"And you pick their presents out yourself?"

"Yes."

Without giving myself a chance to over-think my actions or the feeling behind them, I reached out and took Edward's hand in mine. Then I shuffled towards him to close the distance between us and stretched up to kiss his jaw, because I couldn't quite reach his lips without him turning his head down towards me. But then he did turn his head down towards me, so I made the effort to move the rest of the way over and press my lips against his gently.

"That's really sweet." I said as I pulled back.

I felt myself blushing slightly, but I wasn't sure why.

"Cecilia deserves it." He answered simply.

"She does." I agreed.

The toy store was surprisingly fun. Of course, in true Edward Cullen style, my husband had to go all out…even when it came to toy shopping. I should have known that _of course _we couldn't shop like normal people. Edward spoke to the manager and, once she realized that we were pretty much guaranteed to be spending a lot of money, she was more than happy to assign someone to follow us around and take note of everything that we wanted to purchase so that they could gather and gift wrap everything after we left and then deliver it the next day. It reminded me of a wedding registry, which made me laugh. The whole thing really was ridiculous, but endearing at the same time. It _was_ for the sake of Cecilia's children, after all, so I didn't mind Edward's extravagance for once.

Before leaving, I just had to get my hands on some of that candy. So while Edward waited in line to pay, I went and filled up a bag. They had the cool containers that let you pull a lever and fill a bag up with whatever you want to pay for by weight, so I mixed a little bit everything. I met Edward in line and we settled the bill, making delivery arrangements before leaving the store. I munched on a sour gummy worm as we reemerged in the main part of the mall and I tried to decide what store to go to next.

"Did you need to go anywhere else?" I asked Edward.

"No, Cecilia's children were the last to conquer on my list."

"Did you um…we, I guess….did we get Cecilia a gift?"

"Yes, _we _did. Veronica was kind enough to arrange a spa treatment for her at the salon that she goes to."

"Well, wasn't that nice of _Veronica_."

"Are you jealous of Veronica?" He asked point blank.

"What? No, I…_no_, definitely not." I answered, maybe overemphasizing my point a little bit. "Why would you think that?"

"Because of the way you say her name."

"I'm not jealous."

"Alright."

"Um, I meant to ask you something else concerning Christmas gifts."

"What's that?" He asked, looking over at me as we strolled along.

"Um, am I, like…supposed to get something for your parents? Or is it a my name on your gift kind of deal?"

"I assumed my gift would be from both of us, yes. Don't married couples normally give one gift together? It seems off to do it any other way."

"Yeah, I agree. I was just wondering…"

"I thought that would be the case for my family as well as yours. I didn't get your father a gift."

"I didn't expect you to." I shrugged. "I just didn't want to look stupid if you wanted your gift to be just from you or whatever."

"I don't think marriage works like that…at least, not in the gift-giving department."

"Duly noted." I answered with a nod.

"Who else did you need to get gifts for?"

"Well I guess I don't have to worry about my dad anymore. Um, there's Holly…and I guess I should mail my mother something. I thought about it, and I think I should get Alice something from just me. She'll probably expect it and I really don't want to add any more tension to our relationship if I can avoid it."

"Well I guess we better get on it, my little procrastinator." He answered teasingly, placing his hand on my shoulder.

Shopping really wasn't _quite _as long and torturous as I thought it was going to be. It sucked, yeah, but once I got down to business it wasn't so bad. We stopped off at a high end electronics store and they actually ended up having a location just outside of Forks that would be able to deliver to my dad, so I decided to go ahead and purchase the T.V. there. I got to mess with one there in the store and I was pretty fucking stoked for my dad to get it. I was relieved to finally find a gift that was so simple and, well…totally Charlie Swan.

Neimen Marcus was next, where I killed not two, but _three _birds with one stone. For Alice, I picked out a couple pairs of shoes that I knew she would die for and a cool little gift set of the perfume that she always wore but was hard to find. Coincidently, I happened to know that Esme wore the same kind, so I picked one up for her as well. Then on the way out I spotted a display of some chic, bohemian style jewelry that looked right up my mother's alley. I got her a necklace, matching earrings, and a couple bangles. Neimen Marcus was a total success, and the only person I was left to really worry about was Holly.

Thankfully, Holly was easy. She'd been going on forever about how she wanted to get a Hookah to use at home because Hookah bars, especially in Seattle, were ridiculously overpriced. She thought it would be cool to have one on hand for parties, which I couldn't deny. And since I knew that there happened to be a little hippie-ish smoke shop at the mall that we were at, my next destination was a no brainer. Edward laughed when I told him where I was headed next, and although a smoke shop was definitely not his scene, he was a good sport about it. He browsed the shelves curiously while I consulted with the guy behind the counter. He was a total modern hippie, complete with dreadlocks. The dreadlocks grossed me out, but he was a cool dude. He directed my straight to the best Hookah they had in shop, upon my request, and was really helpful with all the little things I would need to go with it. It wasn't cheap, but when I ran the price by Edward, he pretty much waived me off without an ounce of concern. So I swiped my card and my new Rastafarian looking friend was even nice enough to gift wrap my purchase for me.

Who knew smoke shops gift wrapped and hippies were so friendly?

"Alright, I think I'm all set." I told Edward as we left the shop. "I am _so _ready to go ho-"

"Bella!?" I high pitched voice screeched somewhere to my right.

I turned and, although it was rude, I think I actually cringed.

I absolutely _hated _running into people from high school or people that I hadn't spoken to in years for whatever reason. I mean, who actually enjoyed that? It was always so damn awkward. I personally felt it should just be an unspoken rule in society to pretend you don't see each other and walk the other way in those situations. But of course, not everybody could be as rational as I.

"Hey…Jessica…" I said, my discomfort evident in my tone.

I was never good at hiding my true feelings.

Jessica was your typical high school frenemy. She was _everyone's _friend to their face, but shit seemed to spew uncontrollably out of her mouth behind everybody's back.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" She squealed, flinging herself towards me in some sort of overbearing hug.

I felt myself tense. I used my hands full of shopping bags as a reason not to hug her back.

"How have you been?" I asked, though I couldn't care less.

"I'm _sooo _good, girl! You know my friend Lauren, right?" She asked, gesturing to the bitchy looking blonde girl beside her.

I didn't know the slut, but I knew _of _the slut.

"Yeah, I mean, we've met…yeah." I responded, forcing a smile.

I looked back over at Jessica to find her gazing at Edward curiously. She was a little whore-ish herself, so she probably wanted to fuck him. However, she'd also gained about twenty pounds since I'd last seen her, so I didn't feel threatened.

"…and who is this?" She asked as she looked at him, sticking her tits out and twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.

_Fuck discretion, apparently…_

"Oh, uh, this is my husband...Edward. Edward, this is Jessica and Lauren. I went to High School with them."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said politely, extending his hand first to Lauren and then Jessica.

He flashed them that panty-dropping smile of his and I rolled my eyes.

"Husband?" Jessica demanded, turning back towards me now. It was amazing how her tone was suddenly much less friendly. "…you're married?"

Her tone implied that the idea of me being married was just _so_ fucking hard to believe. I wanted to tell her to go eat another doughnut.

"Yup, sure am."

Lauren was texting on her phone, clearly disinterested in the conversation.

_Yeah, that makes two of us, honey…_

"Wow. Well, um, congratulations…" Jessica answered.

I saw her eyes drop down to look at my wedding rings and I smiled smugly. My patience with being polite to her was running out rapidly.

"So how is Forks community college working out for you? Did you finally transfer? Or are you just visiting?"

She scowled at me, clearly picking up on the bitchiness in my comment that was fully intended.

"No, I haven't transferred. I'm uh…taking a little time off, actually."

_Jessica is a fucking college drop out? Epic…_

"I just moved here. She's here to visit me." Lauren finally spoke up, though she sounded just as bored as she looked.

"Oh, that's co-"

"Well, well, well…little Bella Swan…"

I froze. My throat began to close up. My heart stopped. My palms began to sweat. I didn't need to turn around to know who had spoken from behind me. I would know that deep, monotone voice anywhere. I closed my eyes for a moment to will my heart to start beating again. When I opened them again, sure enough, there he was…standing in front of me.

Jacob Black.

He was fucking smiling at me, his strikingly white teeth contrasting perfectly against his deeply tanned skin. He reached out, evidently having the audacity to think that he could hug me. My mind comprehended what he was doing, but my reflexes were too slow. His fingertips touched my shoulders and I immediately flinched back, inhaling sharply as if I'd just been burned.

I felt like I had.

"Don't touch me." I snapped, more aggressively than I'd intended it to come out.

"…what the hell?" Jessica mumbled, reaching for Jake's hand.

I stared at them, standing there holding hands. Were they a couple? How the fuck did that happen?

"What's wrong baby Swan?" Jake laughed, taunting me. "Never did learn any manners, huh? I guess some things never change."

I shook my head.

"I'm not doing this…" I said with determination, slowly taking a couple steps back away from him. "I'm just…not."

"You two know each other?" Jessica asked, sounding surprised.

We both ignored her. Jake was still smiling at me, and it made me want to spit in his face.

"I don't know what you're doing here, Jacob. But you stay the fuck away from me."

I whirled around, taking Edward's hand, and tugged on it for him to follow me as I briskly walked away. I caught a glimpse of him looking at me with concern as I turned, but I couldn't think about that at the moment. I was seeing red. I was storming past people left and right, so I must have been walking fast. All I could think about was getting away from that place, away from _him. _

"What was that abo-" Edward began, clearly baffled.

"Please don't." I cut him off, my voice unexpectedly flat.

Thankfully, he didn't. He didn't go there. He didn't push. He didn't ask questions.

He was a good friend.

I'm sure that we were out of that mall in no time at all with as fast as I was walking, but it felt like an eternity to me. It almost felt one of those crazy dreams where you're walking down a hallway or tunnel that never ends and there is a door that you can see at the end, but you can never reach it. That's how it felt trying to get out of that mall.

I was breathing, but I didn't actually feel like I was getting any oxygen until we were in the parking lot. I breathed deeply in and out, also becoming aware then that my eyes were swimming in tears. I just wanted to get home.

Edward was nice enough to remain silent on the way home, but I knew that it wouldn't last long. So I wasn't surprised when he looked over at me and spoke as he shifted into park in our driveway.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell that was that happened?"

"No."

"You're really going to leave me in the dark after that?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I sighed and turned my head abruptly to face him.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours, Edward."

"What?" He asked, clearly and understandably confused.

"Scars. Clearly I have my issues, but so do you. You don't ever want to answer my tough questions, which is fine, but don't sit here and expect me to answer yours."

I got out of the car, gathered up my bags out of the backseat hurriedly, and bolted up towards the front door.

.

.

.

.

I wasn't surprised that I couldn't sleep that night. It always seemed like either Edward or myself had sleeping trouble, and I guess that night was my turn.

Edward knew enough to know to give me my space, which he had done the rest of that day. We each did our own thing. He worked in his office and I sat outside for awhile, chain smoking while I lost myself in thought. It was cold as fuck, but I needed to smoke so I dealt with it. I went to bed early, hoping that sleep would help me escape my own mind, but of course…that was just wishful thinking. I lay awake for hours, staring at the window. Edward came to bed eventually, and I pretended to be asleep. I'm not sure if he actually believed me or not, but if he didn't, at least he didn't call me out on it. He went to bed in silence, and his even breathing came quickly.

I guess I would suffer from insomnia alone tonight.

Around two, I gave up. I wasn't getting any rest just lying there, so I figured I might as well at least find something to entertain me. I got out of bed and ventured downstairs to go outside and smoke a cigarette. It did help me relax a bit so that I wasn't so jittery, but I was still wide awake. When I was finished I went back inside and into the kitchen, looking for something to drink. I poured a glass of orange juice and leaned back against the countertop as I drank it, staring blankly at the marble floor.

When the orange juice didn't satisfy me, I went into the pantry to gather up some bread, cinnamon, and sugar. I placed it all down on the counter and then turned to the refrigerator to get some butter.

"What are you ma-"

"AGHH!" I screamed, dropping the tub of butter as I was completely startled by Edward's velvety voice.

I turned to find him standing behind me in the doorway in his boxer briefs, scratching his stomach.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He said with a smirk

"You nearly gave me a damn heart attack…" I sighed, placing my hand over said organ as I bent over to pick up the butter. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, but I woke up and you weren't there."

"So you felt the need to come investigate?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"I guess so." He answered with a slight shrug as he went to sit down on the bar stool across the counter from me. "I just…well, I knew that you were really upset today. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

I stared at him for a moment, not sure what to think of that.

"I'm fine." I finally responded before turning to close the refrigerator.

I turned back to the counter and reached up into the cabinet to take down a plate. Then I opened the drawer next to me to grab a knife and a spoon before reaching to untie the bread.

"What are you making?" Edward asked curiously, watching me.

"Oh, uh…it's just this…bread…thing." I stammered as I fumbled with the bread to plop two pieces on my plate. "I'm not really sure what you'd call it, but my grandma used to make it for me when I was younger. Her family was really poor when they were growing up, so it's like a poor man's dessert I guess. It's really good, though."

I glanced up at him as I began spreading the butter over my bread. He was leaning against the counter with his elbows, his head propped up in his hands under his chin as he watched my actions intently. He looked so…boyish. It was odd.

I shook my head at his weirdness and went back to my task. Once both of my pieces of bread were buttered I put the knife down and reached for the cinnamon, shaking some out over the bread. Then I grabbed the sugar and pinched some in my fingers to sprinkle it over the cinnamon until it all together covered the butter. It looked delicious, so I eagerly picked up the first piece and took a bite. I looked up at Edward again as I pulled the bread away from my mouth and found that he was still staring at me like a fucking creeper. I frowned as I put my bread down slowly, chewing unhurriedly before swallowing my delicious concoction down.

"Did you…want some?" I asked awkwardly once my mouth was no longer full.

"As a matter of fact, I think I _would_ like some." He answered with an amused chuckle.

Edward could be so damn weird sometimes.

I picked up the piece of bread that I'd eaten off of and then pushed the plate with the remaining piece towards Edward. He smiled at me as he picked it up and took a bite. I took another bite of mine as well, and we stood there looking at each other as we chewed.

"Mm," He hummed as he swallowed. "That's pretty good."

I nodded as I put my bread down and turned back towards the refrigerator again in search of a glass of milk.

"Yeah, it is." I agreed. "It makes an awesome late night snack because it's so quick to make and it's all stuff that any kitchen is pretty much guaranteed to have on hand all the time."

"Is this my wife cooking for me for the first time?" He asked teasingly as I poured myself a nice big glass of milk.

"I don't think _that_ constitutes as cooking." I answered with an eye roll.

I took a big gulp of my milk as I turned back to the counter and then put it down to go back to my bread. Edward grabbed it as soon as my hand left the glass and took a big sip as well.

"Get your own milk, asshole…" I laughed as I snatched the glass back from him and took a second sip.

"But what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine, _honey_." He answered with a smartass grin.

"Gah, look at me…I am _so _good at matrimony. I mean, I've cooked for you _and _shared with you all in like two minutes."

He laughed and reached for my milk again. This time I passed it to him willingly.

"Well you seem to be in a much better mood now."

Ironically, that little statement actually put a damper on my mood. It reminded me of all the reasons I'd been in a less than pleasant mood earlier.

"I was never in a _bad _mood." I sighed after a moment of silence, looking down at counter. "I was…just…"

I let my sentence trail off there because, quite frankly, I had no idea how to finish it.

"I'm not asking about this just because I'm nosey."

I looked back up at him and bit my lip.

"I never said that you were being nosey."

"I know you didn't say it, but I don't want you to think it either. I want to know because, most of the time, I feel close to you. But it's strange to feel so close to someone one minute and then the next, you realize that you know nothing about their past. You say that we're supposedly best friends, but moments like what happened at the mall and you being so distant from me afterwards make me remember that I don't know you nearly as well as I feel like I do."

I shook my head, unable to help the laughter that escaped me.

"Why is that funny?" Edward asked.

"I just…I feel the exact same way, Edward. You act like I know all about _your _past and I'm the only one keeping you in the dark. You don't tell me anything either."

"What I don't tell you is irrelevant to my life today, with you. It's in the past. But what happened today, at the mall, is clearly not. Your reaction to that man made it very evident that whatever issues you have with him are very much in the present."

"It's not." I disagreed, shaking my head.

"It is." He retorted. "You're not an emotional person, Isabella. But your reaction to seeing that man was an extreme one. He really upset you. If I really am your best friend, then I would assume you wouldn't have a problem telling me why."

"You are such a hypocrite, Edward." I sighed, shaking my head again. "This is the same exact conversation that we had after we almost hit that car. Now our roles are just reversed. You told me that you didn't want to discuss whatever happened to you in the past because you didn't want to go back to that place. What makes you think that I want to go back to _my _issues?"

"You already went back there, this afternoon."

"Why do you even care, Edward? I leave you alone about your car accident. I leave you alone about whatever past I know you must have with Rosalie. I leave you alone about your stupid diaries. So why are you so persistent to do the opposite with me and my past?"

He looked down for a moment, looking thoughtful. I stared him down insistently, waiting for an answer. Each passing moment that he was quiet, I grew more irritated. He never wanted to talk about his shit, so I left it alone. Why wasn't he doing the same?

"I feel very protective of you, Isabella."

"…excuse me?"

"I don't know why." He continued. "I didn't expect to ever feel this way when we first agreed to this arrangement, but I do. I don't even really know how to explain it. But, when I try to make sense of it, I just know that I feel protective. You are my best friend. And I see so much of myself in you. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense to you now, because you're young, and you don't see yet what your path is. You're still finding yourself. But I see very clearly the woman that I know you're going to be. That potential and that strength that I see in you, reminds me of a younger version of myself. I genuinely want the very best for you. And like I said, I feel very protective. So I guess I didn't like seeing someone upset you so much and having no idea why."

Edward's little mini speech made me uneasy, and I wasn't really sure why. Any rational human being would be flattered, but I was annoyed. And on top of that, I was annoyed that I was annoyed. I should be happy, but I didn't want to hear that.

"I don't need you to protect me." I said flatly as I turned around to go put the now empty plate in the sink.

.

.

.

.

I was awoken the next morning around seven by a phone call from my dad. He was letting me know that he was about thirty minutes away. This didn't surprise me. My dad had always been an early riser. When he told me he was coming for Christmas, I figured that he would arrive early as fuck. That was just his style.

I groaned and rolled out of bed to pee and brush my teeth. Of course, Edward was already up. I wondered why the men in my life all seemed to function on no sleep. I fucking loved sleep. It was probably my favorite pastime.

I pulled my hair up into a loose ponytail and then put on my fuzzy socks, some baggy sweatpants, and a hoodie. If I had to wake up early for my dad, I was at least going to be comfy doing it.

As I walked downstairs, the strong aroma of coffee pleasantly struck my senses. I followed the scent into the kitchen, where a fully dressed and freshly showered Edward was pouring himself a cup.

"Good morning." He said as he glanced over his shoulder at me.

"Yeah…morning…" I mumbled through a yawn as I rubbed at my face.

"You're up early." He commented cheerfully, annoying me.

"My dad is going to be here soon." I explained as I shuffled over to sit at one of the bar stools across the counter from him.

"Cecilia will be here soon as well."

She normally wasn't there until the afternoon, but I assumed she would be arriving early to help prepare for the Christmas party that night.

"Are you working today?"

"Maybe a bit here and there, but just from the house. No one will be in the office all week." He answered before taking a swig of his coffee.

"That's so gross, Edward." I said, scrunching my face up at him. "Who the hell drinks their coffee black?"

"I do." He smirked, taking another sip. "Did you want a cup?"

"Yes, please." I answered longingly.

Edward knew me well enough to only fill my mug half way before he slid it over to me. I put so much shit in my coffee that I couldn't start with an even close to full cup. I smiled at him appreciatively as he pushed the sugar towards me and then went to the refrigerator to retrieve the creamer and give me that as well.

"Do you want the chocolate as well?" He asked as I started dumping sugar into my cup, clearly amused.

"Mm, yes."

Edward and I couldn't be more different in the way we drank our coffee. It was almost comical. He shook his head at me, but he knew that I was damn serious about the chocolate. So he went back to the refrigerator and brought me my squeeze bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup. I squirted a bit onto my mug and followed it up with creamer before I pushed both containers back to him to put away. I was just about to ask for a spoon when he went and got one, so I didn't need to after all.

I smiled to myself as I stirred my concoction and then hummed happily as I took a sip. I was in a much better mood now.

"You might as well just drink hot chocolate." Edward commented as he watched me. "It must taste the same."

"I want the caffeine." I explained, gulping down some more.

It burned my throat, but I didn't care.

"Anyway, as I said, I may work a bit here and there throughout the day. But the house is probably going to be a little chaotic. The party planner and the caterers and so forth will be running around here most of the day, but Veronica will be here to deal with them."

"Oh, wonderful." I said flatly, my tone full of sarcasm.

"I assume you'll be occupied with your father most of the day, anyway. He does know about the party, correct? He'll have something to wear?"

"Of course he knows about the party. I'll have him all dressed up and looking pretty, don't worry. He didn't even want to be here for it at first, but I think he felt better about it once I told him that your family would be here too. I think at first he thought it was like just our friends or something."

"Hardly," Edward smirked. "I hope he won't feel uncomfortable, though."

"Nah, he'll be fine."

"He gets along with my parents, yes?"

"Yeah, they've met a few times, even before we were married. They don't have much in common, but your mom is so damn friendly that she always manages to find something to talk with him about."

"She certainly loves to talk." He nodded.

"Are you sure I can't invite Holly?" I asked with a sigh.

We'd already had this conversation, but I didn't see any harm in running it by him one last time.

"Isabella, we've already discussed this." He reminded me.

"I know, but…" I pouted as I took a sip of coffee. "I won't have any friends here. Unless you count Alice, which is a big stretch…"

"It's not that I don't like her. You know that. But we've both agreed that she would in no way fit in with my scene of people."

"Yeah, I know." I answered with another sigh.

He was right, and it was his party, so I couldn't be upset. It just sucked.

"Even if you tried to contain her…_exuberance_, she's just a little too wild for this type of gathering. We could tell her to tone it down, and I fear she would still be trying to do body shots off of you and trying to start a beer pong tournament."

"You know what beer pong is?" I teased, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You act like I've never been to college."

I laughed and nodded, seeing his point.

"Yeah, you're right. She probably would be a little too out-there for your crowd."

"I don't mind when you two like to have a good time around here, just not in the company of my business partners and associates."

"Yeah, I understand."

"Good. Now, do you know how to wrap Christmas presents? I normally just stuff them in bags, but this morning I discovered that all I have leftover from last year is actual wrapping paper."

"…what a man." I laughed as I hopped off the barstool, grabbing my coffee.

So we set up shop in the living room, wrapping up gifts on the floor while we waited for my dad to arrive. Thankfully, our haul was actually pretty easy. All the gifts for Cici's kids from the toy store were being delivered pre-wrapped, so we didn't have to worry about those at all. The papers for Carlisle and Esme's cruise we just stuck in a little box, and then did the same with the user manuals for the T.V.s for Emmett and my dad, so they were really quick to wrap. We placed them under the huge tree that the decorator Edward had hired had put up and then tackled the gifts that we each got for Alice. Mine came in boxes, so they were easy. We had to track one down for Edward's, and then we wrapped them all in matching paper. Well, I wrapped. Edward sucked at it and I didn't have the patience to teach him, so he pretty much just watched me.

"How the hell am I supposed to go about wrapping a hookah?" I asked with an exasperated sigh once I got to Holly's gift.

"Just put a bow on it." Edward suggested.

"I can't just put a bow on it, dumbass. She needs something to unwrap…"

"I'm sure we can find a box around here somewhere."

"When are the gifts from the toy store being delivered? Maybe those guys will have an extra box on their truck or something."

"They should be here in just a couple hours."

"And how are we getting them to Cici's kids?"

"Well, they'll be at the party tonight."

"They will?" I asked, surprised by that. "I didn't even know Cici would be here for the party."

"She won't be here working, no. But of course I invited her family. She's bringing her husband and the children."

"Well that was sweet of you to invite them."

"Of course I invited them. Cecilia is family."

"Yeah, she is." I agreed, nodding.

I smiled to myself as I moved some more presents under the tree, laughing slightly.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, just…_you_." I sighed, grinning.

"I'm funny?"

"You always surprise me."

"Is it really so surprising that I would invite Cecilia to our Christmas party?"

"No. Well, I mean, it's not just that. You invited her whole family. And that's not even as big of a deal. I'm more surprised that you made the effort to get all those kickass toys for her boys."

"Contrary to popular belief, I _do _have a heart."

He smiled at me as he sipped at his coffee and I laughed.

"Clearly so," I agreed. "But I never said that you don't have a heart, Edward. It's just that you're often times very…" I paused as I pondered how to word my thought without sounding like a total bitch. I wanted to say cold, but that would just be rude. "You come across so introverted. You're very quiet. I think that people mistake that for coldness. I know I definitely did when I was first getting to know you. You're super reserved, so it's surprising when you make such a grand gesture of kindness."

He seemed to ponder that thought for a moment as I knelt down in front of the Christmas tree, arranging all of the gifts to look all pretty.

"It's really not a big deal." He answered humbly after a few moments.

"Sure it is. And you were surprisingly good at picking out some pretty awesome toys."

"Well I had to be." He retorted with a grin. "You abandoned me to go attack the candy aisle."

"Can you blame me? I'm pretty sure they had every candy imaginable. I don't know you resisted."

"It was difficult." He responded sarcastically, making me laugh.

I wondered briefly if my next question was an awkward one, but I decided to just ask it before I gave myself a chance to over-think anything.

"So, you don't ever want kids?"

I regretted the question as soon as I asked it. Maybe over-thinking wasn't always a bad thing. It took Edward a few moments longer than usual to answer, and that just made me feel even more awkward.

"What brought that question on?" I looked down to toy with the roll of wrapping paper on the ground, avoiding looking at him.

I didn't want him to think I was trying to insinuate that I wanted to have his babies or something. I was just making innocent conversation, honestly.

"Nothing. I mean, obviously something, but it's not a big deal or anything. I was just thinking you were good at picking out the toys, so I just…thought, you know…maybe you'd want to do that for your own kids one day?" I sort of mumbled the last half of my sentence, feeling kind of stupid.

Again, Edward waited a few moments before answering me. I hated it when he did that. I always felt like he was making fun of me in his head or something.

"I don't think I'd be a very good father." He offered in response to my question.

"Yeah, I hear ya," I nodded. "I'm pretty sure I'd be the world's shittiest mother."

"No you wouldn't."

"Um, excuse me?" I laughed as I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Have you _met _me?"

"Yes, I _have_." He answered with a nod. "And I personally think you'd make a wonderful mother. You just have a little growing up to do first."

First? Did that mean that he foresaw me as a mother someday? Did that mean that he definitely didn't see this marriage as a long term thing? Did I? I wasn't sure how to answer any of those questions. I knew our marriage likely wasn't a _permanent _thing, but I'd never given much thought to how long I expected it to last. However, Edward's little comment had me wondering if he saw it as such a _short term _thing, that he expected me to leave this marriage with enough time to settle down with some emotionally welcoming man as opposed to him, and have children. I wasn't even sure that I wanted that at all. And to be honest, the thought of my marriage to Edward ending so quickly actually made me a little sad. I wasn't sure why I felt that way specifically, and I didn't even want to begin to try to analyze it.

I just knew that I was having fun, I was happy, and opportunity was in front of me everywhere I turned. Why would I want that to change?

Thankfully, I wasn't forced to try to think of something to respond with. The doorbell rang just moments later, and I jumped up quickly to go get it, because it must be my dad.

"Are you really going to let your father in with that hookah sitting there?" Edward asked, chuckling slightly.

"Oh, shit, you're right…" I answered, biting my lip.

"Go. I'll put it away somewhere." He offered as he stood up from the couch.

"Thanks." I gave him an appreciative smile and hurried off to answer the door.

My fuzzy socks slipped and slid against marble floor as I scurried from the living room to the foyer and over to the big doors. I yanked the left one open and grinned widely, because there was my good ole' daddy.

If there was anything that had ever been consistent in my life, it was that man. And there he was, standing there just as I knew he would be with his trimmed little mustache and that grumpy little frown that always seemed to be plastered to his face, even though he was the sweetest man I'd ever met. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his Carhartt Jacket, and I could see his breath in front of his face.

"Hi, dad!" I said excitedly, genuinely happy to see him.

"Hey there, kiddo." He grinned back at me.

"Get inside, get inside. It's cold."

I stepped out of the way to let him in and he shuffled past me, into the house. I closed the door behind him with a click and then turned around to face him, smiling up at him. He clasped a hand on my shoulder and used it to pull me into a hug, which I reciprocated happily.

"How are ya, kid?" he asked as he released me.

"I'm really good, dad."

"Good. You look good."

"Thanks, you look…" I paused to take a good look at him, and then I frowned. "…pale."

"It's winter." He said defensively.

"…and skinny." I continued, my protective daughter side totally coming out.

For a long time, dad and I were all each other had. We had to have each others' backs, and you know what they say. Old habits die hard.

"Skinny?"

"Yeah, skinny. Why are you so skinny?" I demanded. "Are you eating?"

"Of course I'm eating. I'm sorry I'm not a human garbage disposal like my _darling _daughter." He laughed, poking my shoulder playfully.

"You want some coffee?" I offered as I watched him wring his hands together. "It might help warm you up."

"Does he take it with chocolate and cream like you do?"

My dad and I both turned around at the sound of my husband's velvety smooth voice to find Edward standing in the doorway between the foyer and the hallway that led to the kitchen. He was smirking, lifting his coffee mug to his luscious lips to take a sip.

"She still does that?" My dad asked, grimacing.

"Oh yes, she definitely still does that." Edward chuckled in response. "It's good to see you, Mr. Swan."

"We've been over this, Edward." My dad scolded with a frown. "Call me Charlie."

"Right. I'm sorry, old habits die hard."

He flashed my dad his panty-melting crooked smirk, which was weird, but he didn't know that it was panty-melting…so I guess it wouldn't be weird to anyone but me and my panty-soaking self.

"That's better." My dad approved with a nod. "And it's good to see you too. You taking care of my girl?"

"Always." Edward answered, his eyes shifting to look at me.

I made a fresh pot of coffee and the three of us settled at the dining room table to drink it while we munched on some bagels and muffins. Thankfully, Edward had toned it way down since his first encounter with my dad. I had been quick to call him out for laying our act on way too think, and he was much better now. I knew my dad would never buy into that sappy lovey-dovey bullshit anyway. He knew me well enough to know that I would never actually be with someone who was constantly showering me with ridiculous praises and sappy lines. That wasn't me. So it was fortunate that just as Edward was much more relaxed around _me _nowadays, he was much more relaxed around my father as well. He actually acted like a normal fucking person. Who would have thought?

Cecilia arrived shortly after we were finished our makeshift breakfast and politely greeted my dad. They'd met a couple brief times before, but I think he had a hard time understanding her with her thick accent. Living in good ole' secluded Forks will do that to you. But of course, he was a gentleman. He was totally nice to her, but they made the small talk brief before she set off to work anyway. Edward quickly excused himself to go take some calls in his office, and then it was just me and my dad.

I quickly went into some weird kind of hostess mode, feeling the need to entertain him.

"So, you wanna do something? We could go to that cool fishing store you like."

"Actually, Bells, I kind of have a headache." He said with an apologetic tone, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.

"Oh," I frowned. "Well that…sucks."

"It's no big deal. I was just thinking that maybe I'd take up a couple Advil and go lay down upstairs to close my eyes for a bit. That usually helps."

"Usually?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since when do you get headaches?"

"I've had a few the last couple months. It's probably just allergies."

"Allergies? It's the middle of winter."

"Yeah, well, maybe dust or something. I really need to clean up around the house."

"Alright, well, I'll take you upstairs."

I ran into the kitchen to find some Advil and then led my dad upstairs to one of the guest rooms that we'd set up for him with fresh sheets, towels, and toiletries. I knew that my dad was completely blown away by our mansion of a home, but he didn't say a word about it. I think he was still a little shell-shocked by my marriage to Edward, to be honest. Fortunately for me, it was just part of my dad's personality to keep quiet about the whole thing and pretend that this new life of mine was completely fucking normal. So that's what he did.

"Do you want me to come wake you up at a certain time or anything?" I asked as I watched my dad kick his shoes off.

"Nah, I'm sure I'll wake up pretty quick if I fall asleep. I just want to nip this headache in the bud since we'll all probably be up late with this party tonight."

"Yeah, okay, well…I hope you feel better."

"Thanks, kiddo. I'll come find you later on, alright?"

I kissed him on the cheek and then left him alone, closing the door to give him some privacy. I thought I'd be spending my morning entertaining him, so I wasn't really sure what to do with myself now.

Actually, my day ended up being pretty boring. I spent most of it just walking around the house sipping on hot chocolate, alternating between chatting with Cecilia or Edward when he wasn't on the phone and walking around the house watching people set up for the party. My dad woke up shortly before lunch so we went out for soup and sandwiches before stopping by the fishing store I'd mentioned earlier. There wasn't a big selection of sporting goods stores in Forks, so he always liked to make a stop by the shop when he was in town. He picked up a few things there and then we headed back to our house with plans of watching one of the Christmas movies that was part of our yearly tradition.

"I know I've said this before, but this sure is some car you've got here, Bells…"

"Yeah, thanks…" I said awkwardly, tapping my thumb against the steering wheel as we sat at a red light.

"I'm glad that Edward is able to give you all the things I never could."

I felt my eyebrows pull together as I looked over at him, perplexed.

"What…?"

"I know that sounds dismal, but it's true. I supported you growing up, but I know I didn't give you a whole lot of extras, because I didn't have the money. I wish I could have given you everything as a kid. But now you're all grown up and married and, well, clearly Edward _can _give you everything. So even though I'm sad that you're not my little girl anymore, I am happy about that part."

"Dad…"

"No, no, don't _dad_ me, Bella. I meant that as a positive thing."

"I know you did, but, you know I don't care about that stuff. I wouldn't trade my childhood with you for _anything_." I told him honestly.

"I know that. I'm just saying that I'm happy you have more now. And I'm glad that you're doing so well. You look happy."

"I am happy."

That part was also honest. I really was happy. I'd made an effort to go into this agreement with Edward without too many expectations, and I wasn't sure if that was why, but I definitely wasn't disappointed. I wasn't naïve to how good I had it. I would never regret my decision to marry him. Even if it was inevitable that it would end one day, I knew I had made the right choice. And I certainly wasn't going to take my time with him for granted.

"You know that's all I want for you, kid. As long as you're happy, I have everything I need in life."

I smiled at him, not really sure what to say. My dad and I were never really affectionate or emotional with each other, so moments like this could turn awkward rather quickly. I was opening my mouth to try to come up with something sweet to say back to him, but then the car behind me honked and I was distracted. Apparently the light in front of us had turned green, so I took off again for the house, deciding that maybe that was the perfect way to leave that moment anyway.

We spent the rest of our afternoon watching Christmas movies on demand in the movie room until it was time to get ready for the party. I took a shower and made sure to shave everything so my whole body was silky smooth. When I was done I waited until I cooled off before moisturizing and wrapping myself up in my robe. I plucked my eyebrows and then started on my makeup, since I knew it would take me a while. I was still learning how to do it properly, since I never really wore much before, so I was a little slow at it.

I was just finishing up my mascara when Edward came in and got in the shower. He didn't care that I was just on the other side of the glass door getting ready. That was one thing about our marriage that was actually like a _normal _marriage. We had no modesty with each other. We were both completely comfortable being naked in front of each other, which was cool. It would have been awkward to always try to remain covered in front of him anyway.

"How should I do my hair?" I asked as I grabbed my brush and blow dryer, reaching to plug it into the wall.

"Do I look like a fashion consultant?" He asked, laughing behind the glass door as he lathered up his hair.

"Well, you _are_ a little metro sometimes." I retorted.

"Whatever you say, Isabella…"

"Up or down?" I asked as I began brushing out my long and damp locks.

"Definitely down. You know I like it down."

"Right…"

I smiled to myself as I thought of just how much I knew that he liked my hair down. I thought of all the times that he ran his fingers through it and wrapped it around his hand and tugged on it while he…

"Can you get my towel? I forgot to grab it."

"Yeah, I got it." I answered, still grinning.

I went over to snatch his towel off of the hook next to mine and carried it over to the shower.

"What are you grinning about?" He asked as he shut the water off.

"Nothing." I laughed as I tossed his towel over the top of the glass door.

I absolutely hate how boys can get ready so quickly and look like fuckable perfection while girls have to take a damn hour just to look presentable. It was kind of bullshit. And today was no different.

No joke, Edward was almost completely finished getting dressed before I even had my hair fucking _dried_. I guess it makes sense that boys don't take hardly any time when literally all they have to do is bathe, brush their teeth, and put on deodorant. They don't have to shave and moisturize and pluck and put makeup on and all that other shit. _My _husband was especially low-maintenance, because he was just naturally beautiful.

"Are you going to be dressed in time for the party?"

"It's not my fault my hair takes so fucking long to blow dry!" I complained, yelling over the noise of the blow dryer.

"Maybe you should have started getting ready earlier then."

"Shut _up_, Edward." I groaned. "Ughh, this thing makes me so damn hot. I'm fucking sweating over here…"

I turned off the blow dryer and put it down so I could take my robe off. I was wearing panties, so I was really only half naked. But of course, Edward looked anyway.

Once he was ready, looking all dapper in his suit, he decided to go ahead and go downstairs to see if everything was ready for our guests to arrive. I tried to hurry, but you couldn't rush something like hair, particularly when you were trying to deal with a curling iron.

I ended up curling my hair into big, sort of loose ringlets and let it hang over one shoulder. The strap of my dress went across and over one shoulder to leave the other one bare, so I thought the hair would compliment that well. That was really the most time consuming part, so I was relieved when I was finished with it. It also meant I could finally escape the heat of hair styling tools…_thank fucking God._

After using some hairspray to lock my hair into place, it was finally time to put on my dress. It was gold and sparkly and form-fitting, and in my opinion, pretty damn perfect for a Christmas party. I applied some extra eye liner, some bronzer, and some lips gloss to put the finishing touches on my makeup. Then I slipped on my rings and put my diamond stud earrings into my ears. I stood in front of the full-length mirror to do a once over of myself, and I must admit I was impressed. I looked sexy, stylish, and sophisticated at the same time. Alice would be proud.

The only thing left to do was to find the right shoes, so I made my way into the closet and flicked on the light. It was times like these that the massive, lighted built in shoe shelves in the closet really came in handy. If I was at my old apartment, I would be digging through piles of shoes just to try to find two that matched.

"Isabella?" I heard Edward call, sounding like he was in the bedroom.

"I'm in the closet!" I called back.

"Are you almost re-"

His sentence trailed off there, so I turned around to look at him questioningly. He was just staring at me like an idiot.

"What?" I demanded.

His blank stare shifted into a grin as his eyes travelled first down my body and then up.

"You look…" He paused, seemingly trying to find the right word, but his face already made it clear what he meant.

"Thank you." I smiled. "Now come help me pick out some shoes."

"Is that dress new?" He asked as he walked over to me.

"Yes it is."

"I definitely approve." He nearly purred as he came up beside me and reached out to rub my ass.

"You don't think it's too short?" I asked as I tugged at it to try to pull it down further over my thighs.

"Absolutely not. It's perfect."

"Well, at least it covers my tits. I've always heard that the more boobage you cover, the more leg you're allowed to show."

"Well, I don't know anything about that. But whatever rules you followed with this outfit are definitely working for you."

He leaned in to kiss my bare shoulder and I shivered.

"Alright, settle down there, sparky. I need to find shoes."

"I can assure you that no one will be looking at your feet tonight. Not in that outfit, at least."

"I could wear those." I suggested, pointing at some mile-high black stilettos. "I'd probably be taller than you."

"Isabella, I have about a foot on you. None of those shoes will make you as tall as me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Which ones should I wear?"

"Wear those."

He pointed out a pair of gold Louboutin heels that matched the color of my dress. They were tall, but not outrageous. I would at least be able to walk in them, and that was good enough for me, so I snatched them up.

"Are people here already?" I asked, knowing it had taken me longer than I expected to get ready.

"Yes. Your father is downstairs mingling with my parents, and quite a few other guests have already arrived as well."

"Alright, well, let's get on with it." I sighed.

Edward was right. Downstairs, the party was in full swing. He held my hand as we walked down the stairs and then he led me around from person to person to mingle with his work people. It definitely wasn't my favorite thing to do, but it was part of our agreement. So I plastered a big smile to my face and made my rounds, giggling at the jokes of the men and complimenting the dresses of the women. They were all sweet to me, too sweet to be genuine actually, but it was fine because I dished the sugary bullshit right back to them.

When Edward finally released me to do my own thing, I went over to find my dad chatting with Edward's parents in the living room. I spent a few minutes fawning over my father, because he looked so damn adorable in his cute little suit. Then it was Esme's turn to fawn over my dress and shoes. I could definitely see where Alice got her passion for fashion from.

Edward came over to us after a few minutes and sat beside me, placing his hand on my knee. We talked to our parents for awhile about his work and my school. My grades had improved drastically since I married Edward, because I had more time to study, and my dad was obviously happy about that. Edward had been successful at his endeavors as well, not that he was ever _unsuccessful_, but it was clear that our parents were all very proud of us.

Marcus and Heidi arrived after hanging out with our parents for a few minutes, so Edward and I got up to go greet them together. Heidi was just as loud and sweet as ever, going on about my pretty dress and how cute the house looked all decorated for Christmas. I may not have had a lot in common with her, but I did like her. At least, I liked her a lot more than all of the other stuck-up people there, so I didn't mind hanging out with them for a while. Edward seemed content too as we stood by the Christmas tree, sipping champagne and laughing with them.

At least, he was content until _she _arrived.

I think I sensed her presence before I actually saw her. It was like an iciness seeped into the room, giving me chills. She always seemed to cause a tightness in my chest, and I wasn't even sure why. I didn't even really _know _her. Our interactions were always brief and terse, but somehow they always made me feel like shit. She intimidated me, and that wasn't an easy thing to do. There was just something about her that was unsettling.

This proved to be true yet again when Edward turned around and I followed suit just in time to see her flip that silky blonde hair over her shoulder. She was fucking gorgeous, not that I should be surprised. She was always so perfectly poised and put together. She was wearing a vibrant red dress that contoured perfectly to her sculpted body, complimented by sparkling jewelry, but in reality she wouldn't need any of that anyway. She would have been breathtakingly beautiful standing there stark naked without any makeup on. She was just one of those naturally sexy women. She had that full, bouncy, blonde hair that so many girls strive for and a voluptuously curvy body. Really, she was my polar opposite physically. She was tall, curvy, and blonde. I was short and scrawny with naturally messy brown hair. It was almost comical. When I got dressed that night I'd felt sexy and sophisticated. But somehow, Rosalie had a way of making me feel like a little girl playing dress up.

Edward excused himself from the conversation with Marcus and Heidi, and I'm not sure why, but I felt the need to follow him as he went to greet her. He looked over at me questioningly, clearly surprised, and I just smiled at him sweetly. That made him laugh, because of course, he knew that it was fake as fuck. He was clearly amused as he took my hand in his, which I held tightly. If there was ever a time that I felt the need to be physical with Edward in public, it was in front of her. I don't know why I felt that need. I just had such an intense impression that she wanted Edward, and I felt like she needed to know that she couldn't have him.

The thought that I cared so much was disturbing to me.

"Hello, Rosalie. I'm glad you could make it." Edward said politely as we approached her, leaning in to give her cheek an air kiss.

For anyone else, I would have done the same. Not for her.

"But of course." She answered with a sly grin as they pulled away from each other. "When the reclusive Edward Cullen throws a party, one knows better than to miss it."

"Maybe I'm not so reclusive anymore." Edward answered smoothly.

"Oh?" Rosalie quipped, suddenly looking irritated. "And may I ask what brought on that sudden change of heart?"

Edward laughed, and I'd seen him laugh at her the exact same way before, at our wedding. It was almost taunting, and it made my skin crawl.

"Better late than never, right?" He asked with a smirk.

"Right." She agreed with a single nod, glaring at him.

And this is exactly what irritated me about Rosalie Hale. Every time I was around her, which of course always included Edward, I always felt so left out in the dark. It was that awkward feeling when you're with two people and they're laughing at an inside joke, and you have no idea what's going on so you just sit there smiling stupidly because you don't know what to say. Except with Edward and Rosalie, it was like that _every fucking second_.

"Anyway, I brought a gift." Rosalie continued, seeming to snap out of her irritated state a little bit. "Veronica took it at the door to put with the others."

"Thank you, that was very kind." Edward answered politely.

"Yeah, thanks." I mumbled, taking a sip of my champagne.

"I received the gift basket you sent. Thank you."

"Rosalie! Darling!"

I sighed as Victoria approached us, her chunky body stuffed into an ugly black dress.

"Vic, how are you?" Rosalie asked with a sweet smile as she went to kiss her cheek.

I had absolutely no interest in standing there to watch Rosalie and Victoria fawn all over each other and pretend that I didn't exist, so I walked away. Edward didn't follow me, which was irritating, but I couldn't be mad at him. He wasn't really mine to control, regardless of how much I liked to act like it.

None of those people were my friends. And I wasn't going to act like they were. I had made my rounds with Edward. I had smiled and greeted everyone. I'd played hostess. I'd played wife. That was enough fakeness for me for one evening.

Esme appeared to be in an in depth conversation with some woman I didn't recognize, so I didn't want to interrupt her. I tried going over to Carlisle and my dad, but they were talking about politics and I was _not _about to get involved with that. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the extent of the people that I was friendly with at the party. I turned back to see if Edward had decided to leave the ice queen and her firecrotch friend yet, but the three of them were standing there laughing.

So I decided to hide in the kitchen, because fuck…that was better than standing alone in a party at my own home looking around awkwardly like a fool, right?

There were no guests in the kitchen, thankfully. It was kind of off limits, because that's where Veronica was bossing around the caterers and yelling at the party planner for the stuff she forgot to take care of. I wanted to tell her to put a fucking sock in it, but I didn't want to cause problems. Unfortunately, she was Edward's right hand man. She may be a bitch, but bitch did work. She knew how to get shit done, and I knew that Edward needed her. I wasn't stupid enough to mess up the work dynamic they had with each other. So, I sat my ass down at the table and sipped on my champagne alone, ignoring the questioning and bitchy looks she gave me.

I stayed there by myself for a few minutes; enough time to finish my champagne off. When I was done with that I looked down and toyed with my bracelet to occupy myself. It was times like these that I wondered why Edward had picked me for this. I knew from the very beginning that I wouldn't fit in with his scene of people, and I didn't. Why he thought I was the right fit for his fake wife, I had no idea. I didn't see what he saw. It was ironic, actually. When it was just Edward and I, I'd never felt more comfortable with a guy. He was the male version of me in so many ways. He was different when we alone, as was I. We were different people. We brought something out in each other that other people didn't see. whether that be a good or bad thing I wasn't sure. And yet in spite of that, when we were around _his _people like this…I'd never felt more out of place.

I was just about to throw myself a real pity party when a massive human being came barreling into the kitchen, voice booming.

"Little sister!"

I looked up to see Emmett and grinned.

"Dude, Emmett, I've never been happier to see you…" I sighed as I stood up.

"Why? What's wrong?" He frowned.

"Um, have you _seen _the people at this party? They're miserable."

"Yeah, all they have out there is champagne and wine. I came in here to find a beer. You got any?"

"Yeah, we have some." I laughed as I got up to go fetch him one out of the refrigerator. "I'm sure Edward will get a kick out of you walking around with that."

"Screw Edward." Emmett laughed jokingly as he popped the top off.

"You just get here?"

"Yeah, I came wit-"

"Hi Bella." Someone spoke timidly from behind me.

"Alice…" I smiled at her as I turned to face her, trying to remain as friendly as possible. "Hey. How are you?"

"I'm good. I'm really glad that you invited me."

She walked into the room and I saw that Jasper was behind her. Of course she was wearing a fancy dress, and she'd probably forced that fancy suit on Jasper as well.

"Of course we invited you. You're family."

She smiled and came over to hug me, which was mildly surprising. This was the most friendly we had been with each other in a while.

"The house looks so pretty all decorated." She said as we embraced each other.

"Okay, okay, this is sweet and all, but the party is out _there_." Veronica told us, pointing at the doorway to the hall. "There are too many people in here." She explained bitchily.

"Veronica, what are you yelling about?" Edward asked as he appeared through the other doorway at the opposite end of the kitchen. "Oh, excellent, you guys finally showed up." He added as his eyes flitted from Alice and Jasper to Emmett.

"I stole a beer, bro. Hope you don't mind." Emmett said as he went to give his brother a man-hug.

"It's fine. I should have known you wouldn't be up for champagne." Edward laughed.

I watched as he released his brother and went to hug Alice, who sidestepped away from him.

"I don't have anything to say to you, _Edward." _

What the fuck? Alice was actually being friendly to me, but appeared she wouldn't show the same mercy to Edward. Was he going to be taking her hostility alone now? And why?

"Excuse me?" Edward asked, clearly confused.

"I'm here to see Emmett and mom and dad and _Bella. _Let's just keep our distance, okay?"

What the…_fuck_? This was just getting weirder and weirder.

Surprisingly, Edward didn't even have a response. In fact, he smiled at her. He fucking _smiled_ at her before reaching around her to shake Jasper's hand. Why wasn't he as confused by this as I was?

"Anyway, Bella." Alice sighed, as if she'd just shooed off an annoying bug or something. "I really like your dress. It looks good on you."

"Um…" I stammered, glancing over at Edward.

He gave me a subtle but meaningful look, just a slight shake of his head and a look in his eye that said _be normal_.

Maybe there was a reason why Edward didn't appear to be at all baffled by Alice's behavior. Maybe this was exactly what he'd warned me about. Maybe this was the bipolar disorder.

"Thanks, Alice." I said with a weak smile. "You look really good too."

This encounter pretty much set the tone for the rest of the party. It was boring as fuck, and downright weird. I stuck to Emmett like glue, because both of us pretty much didn't know anybody and I fucking loved the kid anyway. He could turn any awkward or boring situation into a good time, so he was pretty much my main man for the night.

Edward was all over the place all night, but it was understandable. He knew every single person there. So of course, he had a lot of mingling to do. He called me over a few times to talk to certain people, but other than that, he pretty much allowed me to do my own thing while he talked about work and other boring shit with his boring friends. My dad pretty much talked to Edward's parents the whole time, particularly Carlisle. They had seemed to really hit it off tonight, which was cool. I was worried he would feel out of place there, but he seemed fine to me. Really, he seemed more comfortable than I myself did. But that was just my dad. He could be thrown into any situation and just roll with the punches.

For some reason, I felt the need to always keep Rosalie in mind when she was around. It almost felt like I needed to watch my back around her, because she was just shady. So I kept my eye on her for the remainder of the night, and she kept her eye right back on me. She watched me like a fucking hawk, but surprisingly, it wasn't in a threatening way. It was more like she was _observing _me. It wasn't intimidating, but it was still damn creepy. And I didn't like it. I didn't like it that she had come into my own home and made me feel like an outsider. And I didn't know _how _she did that. I tried to hold my own and make myself as threatening as possible when I looked back at her, but I feared that she saw right through me.

Rosalie was the first one to leave the party, which relieved me. But the relief was short lived. Somehow we ended up crossing paths in the hallway as she slid her coat on and headed for the front door, and what she had to say to me was unsettling.

"Isabella." She spoke to me in a low tone to catch my attention and stop me as I walked past her.

"It's Bella." I corrected, sounding a little colder than I intended.

"Your husband calls you Isabella."

"Yeah, well, you're not my husband." I retorted. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to give you some words of advice."

The way she spoke was eerie. Her tone was always so smooth and airy and feminine, as if she were from a different time.

"And what's that?" I asked, straightening up defensively.

"Stop trying so hard."

"Excuse me?"

"Stop trying so hard to act like you belong in this world. You're making it quite obvious that you don't."

I just stared at her, pissed off at myself for feeling shaken by what she'd just said to me. I didn't even have time to try to think of how to respond before she turned and walked gracefully down the hallway.

I was left standing there like a kid who'd just had their lunch money stolen.

Unfortunately, despite my hope, Rosalie's departure didn't help my mood towards the party very much. I just wanted everyone to leave so I could take the heels and dress and makeup off and go to bed. And besides, I still had to deal with Alice. The whole night she was just…weird. She kept being super nice to me, and super fucking mean to Edward. It didn't make sense. I didn't understand why she would forgive me or whatever and still treat him like crap. She was mad that we'd gotten married, but why let it go with one of us and not the other? I had no idea, but I was too tired of the whole thing to question it too much. If Alice was going to be nice to me, then I was going to take it without asking any questions. I just wanted things to be better between us, and I didn't really care how it came about. So, I brushed it off, and Alice's weird behavior continued.

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.

.

The next day was Christmas Eve and Edward's family had come over to open gifts with us and my dad. Unfortunately, Alice was still acting weird as hell. She was still being a bitch to Edward, but after talking to him the previous night after the party, I was pretty sure that it was in fact the bipolar thing kicking in. I didn't really know how to act around her, which made me feel bad. Selfishly, I just wanted to act like nothing was wrong. She was acting like the best friend that I used to know and love, and I wanted to cling to that. But at the same time, my best friend side was also concerned about her.

Cecilia and her family had shown up late the previous night, but it was actually better that way. Most of Edward's guests had left by then, so we were able to actually spend some time with them. Her boys were cool as hell. It was so much fun to see them open all of their gifts, and my respect for Edward for doing that for them only seemed to grow. Thankfully, since they'd taken all of their gifts with them, we had much more space in the living room and under the tree for our little family Christmas time on Christmas Eve.

Carlisle and Esme were so cute when they opened up their cruise papers. They hugged and kissed and talked about how excited they were to finally take a vacation for just the two of them. They kept thanking us over and over, which made me feel a little bad, because I really had absolutely nothing to do with picking it out.

Alice being the little fashionista that she was, of course loved everything that Edward and I had picked out for her. However, she only thanked me.

We made Emmett and my dad open their gifts at the same time since they were pretty much the same thing, and they were both thrilled. My dad gave me a super long and extremely tight hug, going on and on about how awesome the baseball games would look on his new T.V.

Emmett went next to give everyone their gifts from him, and then Alice. She didn't even watch as Edward opened the watch that she gave him.

Christmas as a Cullen turned out to be much different than Christmas as a Swan. All the gifts exchanged were expensive and impressive.

"It looks like there's only one gift left." Emmett commented after pretty much everyone had exchanged presents. "Who is it for?"

"Oh, it's mine." I sighed.

"Who is it from?"

"Just a friend…" I answered, glancing at Alice cautiously.

I knew she really disliked the person that it was from, but she was smiling at me widely.

"Aren't you going to open it, kiddo?" My dad encouraged.

"Um…I guess so."

The gift was from Holly. It had been delivered that morning, which I totally wasn't expecting. I assumed that we would exchange our gifts in person the next time we saw each other, but I quickly saw why she was having it delivered. It was huge. It was skinny, but super long. It would have been a pain in the ass for her to try to bring over by herself. However, I was cautious to open it in front of everyone…because who knows what the fuck it could be.

I crawled over towards the gift and knelt beside it cautiously. It would just be awkward to tell everyone I didn't want to open it, so I would just go for it and hope for the best. I reached out and picked at the tape holding the wrapping paper together, chewing at my lip anxiously.

"Oh, come on, Bella!" Emmett reprimanded from the couch beside me. "Don't just peel the tape off! It's Christmas, dude! Rip the paper to shreds!"

"Alright, alright, I've got it Emmett…" I laughed.

I grabbed at the paper on the side facing me and scratched at the wrapping paper with my nail until it ripped enough for me to peel a big chunk of it off. There was a picture and a portion of the installation directions that were revealed. It took me a moment to realize what it was, but when I did, my heart sank.

_Fucking. Awkward. _

"Is that…" Emmett began excitedly, coming up behind me.

_Don't. Please Emmett, don't even say it out loud._

His booming laughter was loud in my ear.

"It is!" He hollered excitedly. "Fucking sweet!"

"Emmett!" Esme scolded from the loveseat she was sharing with Carlisle. "Language!"

"What is it?" Alice asked impatiently, watching me curiously.

I felt my cheeks burning bright red. I could not possibly be opening this gift in front of a more awkward group of people.

"It's a freaking stripper pole!"Emmet announced, completely fucking delighted with the situation.

It was silent for a long time, other than Emmett's snickering.

"And who did you say that was from, Bella?" My dad asked in a clipped tone, clearly not amused.


	18. A Distinct Message

**A/N**

**If you're reading this, thanks for sticking with me!**

**[Edward and Bella have been married for nine months]**

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I inhaled deeply, allowing the smoke to fill my lungs. I took a moment to contemplate why the smoke of marijuana felt so different than the smoke of a cigarette, but I quickly decided that I didn't care. It was better, bottom line, and I needed it. I'd been studying my ass off all day.

That was just an excuse. I would have smoked the weed even if I'd done nothing but sit on my ass all day.

After all, how was I supposed to sleep without it?

I'd been married for about nine months now. At that point in my life, and in my marriage, I was smoking almost every day. I contributed this to many different factors.

Factor number one? Holly.

The first time I ever smoked with Holly, I didn't expect it to turn into something that we did together almost every time we hung out. It was strange. I'd been friends with her for a decent amount of time before then, and I never knew that she was such a pothead. Well, more like druggie in general. On second thought, maybe _druggie _was a little harsh. She wasn't a druggie, because as far as I knew she didn't have dependency issues, but the girl liked to party. A good time for her always had to be accompanied by something. She wasn't picky. Alcohol, weed, pills…she was game for anything. While she was a factor in my regular use of marijuana, in some ways, she actually made me feel quite tame. She was into much more intense things than I was. I always told myself weed wasn't bad for me because it was all natural. Holly didn't care about that. I'd seen her snort coke with her boyfriend on multiple occasions. At least I hadn't jumped on _that _crazy train.

_And Holly's boyfriend brings me to factor number two. _

Factor number two? Accessibility.

I'd learned very quickly that Holly's boyfriend, Embry, was pretty much the biggest drug dealer at our school. He sold all kinds of shit. Therefore, I never had to hunt for weed whenever I wanted to get high. I always knew where to find it. And usually, I had so much on hand that I never even had to ask him for some last minute service. And because Holly was with him, whenever I smoked with her, I smoked for free. Not that money was an issue, anyway.

_Cue factor number three. _

I could afford it. I think that was the biggest reason that I smoked so much more often since marrying Edward than I had before. Before, I was broke. Weed wasn't a cheap habit. I'd learned that very quickly when I'd first started smoking occasionally with my friends in high school. I knew people then who had after school jobs solely so they could dedicate their paychecks to the luxury of smoking every day. But I had Edward. I could afford to buy in bulk. And I never had to pace myself. In hindsight, that was probably a bad thing. I wouldn't have smoked so much if I actually had to worry about the money I was blowing. It was also selfish of me to _not _worry about the money that I was blowing, but it didn't matter much to me at the time. At that point, I still had a lot of growing up to do.

Of course, there were other smaller factors that went into it. Obviously I simply enjoyed it, and it definitely helped with the stress of school. But the main three factors were the reasons that I had picked up the habit so regularly since marrying Edward and befriending Holly. In reality, I was smoking weed because I was trying to fill a void that I didn't know I had yet. But still, everything just aligned at that point in my life, as if the universe wanted me to be a pothead.

I giggled at that thought as I took the last hit my joint had to offer and then slung my arm over the side of the lounge chair I was laying on to put it out on the cement of the patio. I was laying upside down on one of our outdoor lounge chairs so that my back was flat and my legs were inclined. It was insanely comfortable. It was my favorite way to lay out and gaze at the stars, which were bright and vivid on this particular night.

_And a good night it had been_.

Edward was out late at a business dinner, so I had sent Cecilia home early. I never liked keeping her around to cook for and clean up after just me. It felt silly. At least when Edward was there, I could justify her trouble in my thoughts by thinking of her as _his _maid. When it was just me, I felt guilty. I didn't want to come off as thinking that I was too good to do those things for myself. So, I sent her home early and ordered myself a pizza. Then I took a relaxing bubble bath and then pigged out on Oreos while I watched, and cried to, _Marley and Me_. I'd never even had a dog, and that shit still got to me.

The back door creaked open then and I lolled my head to the side to watch Edward appear, looking all fancy and dapper in his suit.

"I was looking all over the house for you." He told me as he closed the door behind himself.

"Well hello to you too, husband."

"Hello. Why are you sitting out here in the dark? I was going to look for you out here initially, but the porch light wasn't on."

"I wanted to see the stars." I explained, turning my head again so I was looking straight up at the sky.

I heard his footsteps as he approached. He stretched one arm out over me and gripped the other side of the lounge chair I was on to brace himself as he leaned over to kiss me. He must have had wine at dinner, or it would have been the cheek.

"Are you high?" He asked against my lips, probably smelling the weed.

I nodded and he kissed me again, unbothered. Edward was used to this.

Initially, I was surprised that Edward didn't mind my smoking. At first, I even tried to downplay it. Each time I smoked with Holly, I always felt the need to tell him that it was just an occasional thing or a social thing. The first time he knew that I'd done it alone, I almost felt guilty; like my father had caught me. But as my habit progressed, we had a conversation about it. He had laughed as he reminded me that he _wasn't_ my father. He told me that I was an adult and that I could make my own decisions, as long as it didn't affect the aspects of our agreement, which it hadn't. He told me that he'd been apprehensive when he first noticed how frequently I was starting to smoke, but that he was unconcerned when he saw that my behavior under the influence wasn't problematic. It wasn't as if I was walking around the house like an obnoxious, sloppy drunk. I was mellow. To be honest, I was probably easier to be around high than I was not high. I had asked him if he looked down on me for doing it, and requested that he answer me truthfully. He assured me that he didn't, explaining that he was my age once and that the fact I was a young college student did make a difference. He'd said that he would feel differently if I was his age and had the responsibilities that he had. I agreed, telling him that I knew my activities had an expiration date. He told me that it should be kept as low-key as possible and reminded me of the way I was expected to conduct myself in public and at events with him, regardless of what I chose to do with myself in my own time behind closed doors. And that was all that needed to be had of that conversation.

"How was your dinner?" I asked, lifting my arm to loosely drape over his shoulder to play with the short hairs at the nape of his neck.

"Uneventful." He answered, moving his head to the left to lean down further and press his lips against my neck softly. "I assume you sent Cecilia home?"

"I had pizza." I confirmed, closing my eyes and enjoying his lips on my skin.

I wanted him to kiss me again, but before I had the chance to ask him to do so he straightened back up, effectively pulling his delicious mouth and face away from me.

"I'll be upstairs. I want to shower and change into something more comfortable. Will you be long?"

"No," I answered with a slight shake of my head. "But you don't have to wait up for me or anything."

"I know, but I think I want to."

Had I been in a more conscious or clear state of mind, I would have recognized underlying tone in his sultry voice for what it was. But I was high, and therefore, I simply nodded. That was always me when I was floating. _Just nod and say yes._

I kept my attention turned up towards the sky and listened to the sound of the back door opening and then clicking back into place as Edward left me. I stayed outside for a while, content to remain there on my little lounge chair gazing at stars as I enjoyed the peak of my buzz. I lost myself easily in thought, my mind sluggishly mulling over every little thing that occurred to me. Being high made me feel like a fucking philosopher. It was amazing the deep shit that I could come up with when I was buzzed that would all be lost in the vision of sobriety tomorrow. That itself was one of my many philosophic notions. Sometimes I felt like weed, or drugs in general, simply opened up parts of our complicated minds that we never utilized otherwise; lost in the bustle of gears that was our every day function. I felt like I could truly _understand _shit on such a deeper level.

Or maybe I was just tripping.

Eventually, three cigarettes and a two passing planes later _to be exact_, I got up and decided to head in. I was already starting to come down from the climax of my high, but I was still feeling good. Mellow was my middle name as I went back inside and locked up before finding myself wandering towards the kitchen. I was suddenly hungry as fuck, and I refused to attribute it to the 'munchies'. I'd determined long ago that was just an excuse for people to be fat-asses when they're high, but I had no shame. I embraced my fat-assness. In fact, I embraced it right on through two slices of left over pizza and a fruit roll up. Clearly I'd left my mark on our household grocery list by then.

With a belly full of happiness and a can of diet coke in hand, I made my way upstairs to the bedroom. Edward was already in bed, sitting up against the pillows and watching the news. A bottle and a half-full glass of red wine sat on the nightstand beside him, making me smile weakly. _My little wineaholic. _His hair was damp and tousled and he was naked other than the black boxer briefs that shielded the best part of his sculpted body from my admiring eyes. I knew he would smell like toothpaste and that delicious smelling soap that he used, which was part of the reason I went to him right away.

I placed my can of Diet Coke down on the nightstand next to his wine glass and then climbed my way up onto the bed and clambered onto his lap, sitting sideways.

"Well, hello to you to." He laughed softly, moving his arms to accommodate me and then draping one across my thighs.

"I want to ask you something."

"Alright."

"I want to ask you _for _something, actually."

"Oh? And what's that?" He asked, his green eyes eyeing me curiously.

"A puppy."

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't like pets. They're dirty and they pee on carpet and shed everywhere."

"I'll potty train it! _Please_, Edward? I watched _Marley and Me_ and now I really, really want a dog."

"You want to take on the responsibility of a pet because you saw one in a movie? Really, Isabella, you sound like a child."

"I _want _the responsibility of a pet! He'll be like my little buddy. And you know how much I hate staying in this big house alone when you're working late or gone on business. A dog would be perfect for me."

"Get a fish."

"A fish? Wh- I…no, I don't want a fucking _fish_. Fish are lame."

"And dogs are dirty."

"I'll give it baths."

"You know you have to walk dogs."

"I can do that."

"You're the laziest person I've ever met, Isabella."

I scowled and smacked his shoulder.

"That's fucking rude…"

"I'm not trying to be mean." He answered, fighting a smile. "But it's true. I really can't see you taking a dog on walks every day."

"Well, I will."

"Where would it sleep?"

_With us. _

"Wherever you want it to sleep." I lied.

He sighed and looked at me silently, his eyes searching mine for something. Sincerity, maybe? Determination?

"I'll think about it."

I opened my mouth to protest his 'no' before I even had a chance to realize that he was giving me a 'maybe'. I closed my mouth and blinked at him, surprised.

"Okay. That's…fair." I answered.

"It's not a yes."

"But it _will _be." I grinned.

He laughed and shook his head at me, reaching for his glass of wine. He turned his head as he reached, making the definition of his strong jaw and the cords of his neck pop out. I loved the way the veins in his forearms popped out when he tensed and the way his Adams apple bobbed in his throat. His whole body was so strong and defined and muscular. These traits were all undeniably appealing to the instinctual side of my womanhood; the side that craved a big, strong cavemen that could hunt and gather and breed me and whatever the hell else freaky shit went with that. Bottom line, his masculinity made my panties wet.

So I took the chance while his head was still turned to lean in and kiss under his earlobe before gently nibbling on it. I was right. He did smell like that delicious soap. I breathed it in as I moved lower to kiss the skin of his neck, working towards his Adams apple.

"Mm…" He hummed, making me smile against him.

Edward's throat was his weak spot. Kissing on his neck was like an automatic trigger for an impressive erection in his boxers, the likes of which I could feel awakening beneath me and poking at my ass. He hummed again, and I reveled in the sound. I loved that low rumble in his chest whenever he moaned or hummed or groaned or grunted or any of the other glorious noises I loved to make him make.

"Don't start a fire that you're not prepared to put out." He warned, squeezing my thigh with his free hand as he put his glass of wine back down.

"Don't worry. You're not the only one burning." I assured him, feeling the heat intensify between my legs.

"Oh? Is that so?"

He chuckled softly as his hands grabbed at my thighs, pulling and moving me until I was straddling his hips. He tilted his head up towards me as I settled against him and I let mine fall forward so my lips could meet his. He captured them with his own and we immediately picked up a rhythm as if we'd been kissing for hours. I closed my eyes and sighed against his mouth. His lips were always so soft; like butter. They molded against mine so easily, gentle yet guiding.

His hands remained on my thighs, holding me firmly. I moved mine to cover them and they seemed to move up on their own accord, my fingers flitting up over his wrists and then sliding up his forearms. My yearning deepened as my hands continued their path and moved up over his biceps, twisting up to grip his broad shoulders. He made a humming sound and pushed his tongue into my mouth to move against mine. I moved my hands again, this time to either side of his neck as our kiss deepened.

It seemed that as soon as my hands stopped their traveling, Edward took that as a cue to start with his. His large hands moved up my thighs, up over the curve of my hips, and slipped up the bottom of my T shirt. I shivered slightly when his hands came into contact with the sensitive flesh of my bare sides, moving up over my ribs. His hands moved with purpose and it was no time at all before Edward was groping and pawing at my modestly sized breasts, over my lacey bra. I felt my nipples harden against his palms as I moaned softly into his mouth. He always somehow knew exactly how to manhandle me, always finding the perfect balance between gentle and forceful.

He occupied himself for a while with my breasts, squeezing and massaging and tantalizing until he had me grinding against his erection in search of friction. However, that wasn't enough for very long. He pulled his delicious lips away from mine and I was just about to protest when his hands moved back down to start pushing my shirt up and I quickly realized his intentions.

"…_the suspect is accused with the murder of a two year old little girl, missing since last month. Detectives have…"_

I frowned and turned to face the T.V. behind me, which was still on the news.

"What?" Edward asked, his hands stilling on my sides.

"Did you hear that? Something about the murder of a two year old. Geez, the news is a real…mood killer."

"Change the channel." He answered dismissively.

I reached for the remote and shifted partially off of Edward's lap to open the channel guide on the television screen. I had no clue what to put on. What does one chose to watch as background noise while they have sex? It was an interesting conundrum, and ultimately, I decided to pick a music station. What made better background noise than music, after all?

Not wanting to take the risk of a channel that could possibly turn out some soft and romantic song, because that could be potentially awkward, I settled on a rap station. It was a stereotypical choice, but a safe one. So I could deal.

I wasn't really a big fan of modern rap, but the T.V. screen informed me that the song beginning to play was _She Will_ by _Lil Wayne _and _Drake_. I actually quite liked the beat, so I decided to stick with it and drop the remote.

"Come back here…" Edward spoke, recapturing my attention as he pulled at my hips.

I smiled at him as I turned back around and settled back down on his lap, my legs still straddling him. He returned my smile, reaching up to trace my bottom lip with his thumb.

"You're still high." He observed. "Your eyes are bloodshot."

"I'm really not…," I started, shaking my head. "…that high…"

"It's okay. It doesn't mean that I'm not going to fuck you regardless."

"I believe you were in the middle of removing something…" I said as I pulled at the bottom hem of my T shirt and tugged it off over my head.

"Mm, who would have thought…" Edward mused, his eyes dropping slightly lower to take in the black lacey material covering my breasts.

"Who would have thought what?" I asked as I dropped the shirt on the floor beside the bed.

He reached for his wine glass and took a sip before answering me.

"Watching you take your clothes off is almost as much fun as doing it myself."

"Oh?" I asked as I watched him place his glass back down.

I grinned and reached behind my back until my fingers found the clasp of my bra. I popped it open quickly and it fell down around my elbows. I worked my arms the rest of the way out of the straps and then laughed as I lifted the bra over Edward's head and wrapped it around the back of his neck, using it to pull him towards me for a kiss. But before my lips could meet his, his hands on my hips pulled me up and towards him roughly so that I was on my knees and my nipple was in Edward's mouth before I even knew what was going on. He sucked and I moaned, my hands immediately dropping the bra to fall somewhere behind his back.

"Fuck…" I sighed as Edward's teeth grazed my nipple.

I moved my hands to grip the headboard behind him and closed my eyes, letting my head lull to the side slightly as I enjoyed the feeling of his lips and tongue and teeth on the sensitive flesh of my nipple. His left hand moved to squeeze the other one and I moaned.

That was the night that I realized that music during sex could be a _very _good thing. I realized that, I guess unconsciously, my body was swaying back and forth to the music. I couldn't help it. It was a sexy beat, and I was still a little high, so…fuck it, right?

I felt Edward chuckle softly against my breast, evidently noticing my stupid dancing too. I opened my eyes to find him looking up at me already. He tugged on my nipple with his teeth one more time and then pulled away, licking his lips.

"If you wanted to dance for me, we should have had the stripper pole installed."

I rolled my eyes at the mention of the Christmas present Holly had given me. It was sitting in a closet, still partially wrapped and in the box.

"Shut up…" I laughed, moving my hand to ruffle his hair.

"You still have clothes to take off…" He reminded me.

I moved back slightly, but remained up on my knees as I moved my hands down my body to hook my thumbs in the top of my little blue, stretchy shorts. I pulled down at them slowly until they were past my butt and then had to reposition myself to sit down so I could pull them off over my legs. I sat down on Edward's thighs and he helped me pull my shorts off, revealing my black lacey panties that matched the bra I'd already taken off. He hummed appreciatively at the sight as he tossed the shorts on the floor.

"Mm, Isabella, you know I'm a sucker for lace…"

"I know." I said with a grin as I moved to remove my last garment.

"No," He said, reaching for my hand to stop me. "Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around. I want to watch as you reveal that sexy ass I love so much…"

_Oh, Edward. My pervy ass-loving husband…_

I laughed and shook my head at him, getting back up on my knees and turning around to amuse him, still straddling him but facing the other direction. His hands moved to rest lightly on the outsides of my thighs, rubbing up and down slowly, light enough to give me goosebumps. I moved my hands to my hips and wiggled my ass teasingly for Edward, swaying around to the music again as I slowly started to pull my panties down.

As soon as the black lace was down over my ass, one of Edward's hands was roughly groping the newly revealed flesh. He knocked me off balance and I laughed as I fell over, catching myself with my hands against the mattress in front of me.

Then his hand was between my thighs, his long fingers exploring me there, and I was no longer laughing.

I moaned and closed my eyes, but I was quickly reminded when I moved to turn around that my panties were still around my thighs.

"Edward, I need to take these off…" I laughed as I wiggled away from his touch, crawling away from him on the bed.

I managed to crawl out of his reach and then spun my legs around in front of me as I sat down so I could push my panties over my hips and down my thighs. I kicked the binding garment down off of my feet and then pushed them to the side, where they met the same fate as my T shirt on the floor.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Edward shifting behind me to remove his boxers. Thankfully, he was already hard. That was fortunate for me because I really didn't feel up for any foreplay. That may sound rude of me, but Edward wasn't foreplay's biggest fan either. And besides, I wasn't _completely _inconsiderate. For example, because Edward was such an ass-man and it was very obvious that he was currently in the mood for a rear-end view, I took that into consideration when determining my position.

I got back onto my knees and backed myself up so I was once again straddling him, facing away from him. After all, what other position was there for me to choose? It was already established that we rarely had sex facing each other, and certainly not ever like this. He was sitting up, and if I was straddling him, well…we would be way too close. In retrospect, I think our stubbornness to deviate from our sexual routine was an unconscious attempt to keep any kind of intimacy at bay. We wanted to keep our sex life as what it was; fucking. At the time, however, I told myself I was just going with the flow. Really, I was playing it safe. _We_ were playing it safe.

But that didn't mean that our sex life wasn't exceptionally…_stimulating_, to put it kindly.

"Give me that ass…" He encouraged, placing his hands on my hips to pull me back roughly towards him.

"I thought you might want to watch that ass bounce while I ride you…" I told him in my sultry sex voice.

"You thought right." He answered appreciatively, sliding his hands around to grope my cheeks again.

I settled my hands on his thighs as I lifted my ass up and shifted around until I was positioned over him. Looking down between my legs for some visual guidance, I saw him take hold of himself and line his length up at my entrance. One dip of my hips down just an inch allowed me to feel his hardness pressing against my opening and I whimpered longingly, eager to feel him fill and stretch me. I moved to lower myself further, but then he moved himself before he actually penetrated me. Instead, he moved himself back and forth across my slick folds to brush against my clit and tease me.

I was having none of that.

I groaned and reached down to grab at his hand and swat it away so I could take control. He chuckled as he relented and withdrew his hand, wising up and letting me do my thing. I gripped his shaft and realigned him so I could sink down onto his length before he could cockblock me again.

"Oh, fuck…" I sighed as Edward groaned.

I shifted my weight a bit on my arms as I slowly took him in, relishing in the feeling of him filling me completely. Edward's pleasurable sighs and grunts behind me brought a small grin to my lips.

"You have such a perfect fucking pussy…" He breathed, his strong hands massaging my thighs as I adjusted my position to find just the right leverage.

Once I was comfortable at just the right angle, I slowly pushed up with my leg muscles, dropping my head to look down between my legs and watch his impressive length slide smoothly in and out of my body. The sight was tantalizingly erotic.

"Ughn…fuck…" I whimpered when I leaned forward to get a better view and consequently felt the head of Edward's glorious manhood glide over my G-spot.

"Ride me…" Edward encouraged, his voice dripping with sex.

I then felt both of his hands plant on my ass and grope my cheeks roughly, the force of which nudged me up and forward a bit, intensifying that wonderful sense of pressure on that magic spot inside of me.

I settled my weight on my hands as I moved up slightly unto my knees, bracing myself to really get down to business. I dipped my hips down and used my thigh muscles to push back up again, this time immediately picking up a steady pace.

"You're so fucking hard…" I mewled in wonder, my face contorting in intense pleasure.

He literally felt like a phallus of pure marble inside of me. I mentally smirked at that thought. His body _did _seem to resemble some statue of a Greek God, or maybe Hercules. Of course his penis wouldn't disappoint either.

"It's all yours…" He told me, stroking my ass and thighs.

"Fucking right it is…" I agreed, possessively loving that more than I probably should have.

We continued on for several minutes, and the though eventually struck me that I really should lay off of the smoking and go for a fucking run sometime, because being on top wore me the hell out. It wasn't very long before my skin was flushed and sticky with sweat and my breathing was erratic. My breasts bounced and my ass jiggled up and down a bit as my movements grew faster and faster.

My hard work wasn't in vain, however.

As my movements grew faster, the pleasure in my belly constricted tighter and tighter. I was so wet I could feel it on my thighs and Edward's lap, and so ready to combust that I was practically pulsing around him. I felt like I was getting close, but I was also getting tired. The fatigued burning in my thighs seemed to be distracting me and pulling my orgasm just out of my reach.

"Are you close?" I whimpered to Edward, shifting my weight.

"I'm getting there." He replied calmly.

Getting there? What the fuck? I was a hot sweaty mess, about to burst at any moment, and Edward didn't even sound out of breath.I slowed down as I flipped my hair over my shoulder and turned to glance back at him over my other. My mouth fell open at what I saw.

Motherfucker is literally sitting there sipping on his fucking wine while he watches me ride him.

Part of me wanted to be offended that he was being so blasé towards what I considered to be good fucking sex. And yet, at the same time, I was oddly turned on by it. Over time, I was growing to enjoy Edward's controlling tendencies...and the control that he liked to demonstrate over me in the bedroom. It seemed to completely contradict my personality, but I theorized it was because Edward was the first person I'd ever met who actually _could _control me. He didn't take my bullshit like everyone else did. He knew how to put me in my place.

"What are you doing?" I asked through my panting, failing to hide my disappointment that he wasn't on the edge with me.

"Are you ready to come?" He asked simply, ignoring my question.

"I want to come together."

"Alright."

He took one last sip of wine and then placed his glass back down on the nightstand before turning to give me his undivided attention. He bent his knees so that his feet were now flat against the mattress. I held onto one of his legs to help balance myself as I maintained my position. Edward's hands found my hips then, which he gripped firmly in his strong hold, and then he began to thrust up into me relentlessly.

His whole attitude was as if he had just been letting me have my fun this whole time, playing and bouncing around on his dick while he watched amusedly, and now it was time to get down to business. It was slightly insulting and extremely erotic.

"fuck!" I called out as he fucked me.

Now that Edward had taken over and I could just sit there and enjoy, the pleasure ripping through my body was intensifying greatly and rapidly. I vocalized my undoing with long, drawn out moans and high pitched whimpers. Edward kept up a strong, steady pace. I could hear the sounds of skin against skin and his length plunging into my wetness.

"Hold it, Isabella…" He commanded, knowing I was close.

At least this time, he sounded somewhat strained.

"I can't…" I whined, still holding onto his leg as my body bounced up and down with the force of his thrusts. "I'm so fucking close…"

"Hold it." He ordered again. "I'm getting close."

Those words were everything to me in that moment. He was getting close. All I could do was wait and try to hold out for him, or maybe I could try to speed things along for him. I closed my eyes and focused on squeezing my muscles around him just the way I knew he liked. However, my plan backfired. Squeezing my muscles increased my own pleasure and I combusted, pulsing in waves around Edward as I orgasmed.

"Fuck, Isabella…" Edward grunted, and I assumed he was about to reprimand me for releasing when he'd told me to wait, but then I felt it.

I felt him spasm inside of me and then the first spurts of his release coating my insides. I smiled triumphantly as I rode out the remainder of my own pleasure.

We both stayed still for several moments, silent other than our efforts to catch our breath. I lolled my head back and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the fan blowing over my glistening face and chest. My breath came back to me slowly but surely and then I lifted my head again and leaned forward, resting my cheek against Edward's knee. His hand began rubbing my back slowly and I sighed, never having felt more relaxed than I did in that moment. My muscles felt like jelly. I wondered if I'd ever be able to move from right where I was.

"Don't fall asleep." Edward cautioned softly. "You've still got a hold of my dick."

I somehow mustered the strength in my legs to push myself up enough until I was empty once again and then lazily rolled off of him, settling on the bed next to him. I didn't open my eyes to see, but I felt the bed shift as Edward got up. I fell asleep just moments later to the sound of running water in the bathroom.

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Three days later I sat on our bed, watching as Edward packed his suitcase to go out of town for business.

"This is why I need a dog." I sighed as I rolled over to my back. "I hate staying here alone."

I was laying across the bed with my head at the end and my feet by the headboard, Edward's suitcase sitting next to me.

"It's only two days, Isabella."

"So what? That doesn't make a difference. This house is too big to stay here all by myself."

"Ask Emmett to stay over. Aren't you going to be with him anyway?"

Over the last few months, Emmett and I had grown quite close. Our tight relationship as brother and sister by law had developed slowly, but strongly in the end. In fact, often times I wondered why we hadn't been so close right off the bat. Our personalities were very similar, and let's face it, Emmett was a guaranteed blast. He was one of those people who is literally fun to be around all the time. Even just sitting around, he could be entertaining. He had a way of making anyone feel comfortable around him. And surprisingly, considering who his brother was, he didn't take himself too seriously at all. As far as friends go, he was just my type.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll ask him." I sighed.

Later that night I had plans to go out with Holly and Emmett to a fancy club that was on Edward's pre-approved list of places he felt were high-class enough. It shouldn't be too hard to convince Emmett to sleep over at the house afterwards, but still, I wanted that damn puppy.

"Holly will probably end up passing out with you here anyway. I highly doubt you'll be alone either way."

"Yeah, I guess. Where are you going again?"

"New York City."

"I've never been to New York." I sighed longingly.

"It's an exciting city. I wish you could come with me, but you-"

"…have school. I know, I know. I have to be all _responsible _and shit."

I turned my head to watch as he zipped his suitcase up and pulled it off of the bed, setting it on the floor.

"I forgot to tell you that Heidi was asking about you. She wanted to know if you would be attending her luncheon tomorrow. I ran into her and Marcus and she was saying that you haven't gotten back to her about it."

"Oh, fuck, I totally forgot…" I sighed. "I meant to call her."

"Are you going?"

"I don't know. I mean, I know I should…you know, to socialize with everyone or whatever."

"But?"

"But I really don't want to see Rosalie, and I'm _sure _she's going. I know she's friends with Heidi."

"She won't be there."

I sat up, quirking an eyebrow at him. Why the fuck did he know that?

"Um…okay. And you know that because?"

"Because she'll be in New York."

I shook my head quickly, as if trying to purge my mind of the statement I had just heard.

"Rosalie is going to New York with you?" I asked, not even bothering to hide my bewilderment. "What the hell?"

"It's not like she's going _with _me. At least, not the way that you're implying."

"I don't care what way she's going or how the hell she gets there. Why is she going to be there with you?"

By this point, I was pretty much fed up with the Rosalie situation. If anything, the whole thing had just gotten worse. The icy encounters with her had grown colder and the darkness I always felt I was left in around her and Edward had grown darker. I was done with it.

"It's business, Isabella. Don't be dramatic. You know that I'm her lawyer. She's signing a contract and she's paying me to be there. It's work."

"Fuck that, Edward. I don't care if you're her fucking lawyer or not. I want to know what the deal is with her. I'm tired of you beating around the bush and me not asking questions."

"There is nothing to tell." He insisted. "It's work. I told you."

"I'm not talking about New York, I'm talking about Rosalie. You know that I know that there's more between you than work, and I want to know what it is"

His body language stiffened immediately as he put up his wall. We'd both built walls around ourselves in this relationship, and for so long we'd been at a stalemate about it. I wanted to get through his wall so desperately, I was about to agree to taking down a piece of mine.

"You're right. I do know that you know that there is a history there between myself and Rosalie. But that's exactly what it is, a history. Since this agreement with you started, my relationship to her has been nothing other than work related. So as far as I'm concerned, it's really none of your business."

"_Bullshit,_ Edward. Whatever it is between you two may have happened in the past, but clearly it didn't stay there. Do you know how stupid I look when we're around her and you guys speak in your cryptic little bantering lingo, and it's so fucking obvious that I have no idea what's going on? She knows that I don't know, and I hate it. Whatever happened might be in your past, but _Rosalie _is very much in both your present and in mine. It isn't fair to me to be left clueless about it."

"What do you want to know, Bella?" He asked in a huff, clearly growing frustrated.

I didn't give a flying fuck if Edward was frustrated, because I knew it couldn't compare to the frustration I'd been feeling over this for months.

"Have you fucked her?"

"Yes." He answered quickly, surrendering.

I grimaced. I was disgusted buy that revelation. It's not like I felt a sense of betrayal. How could I? But still, Rosalie made my skin crawl. It made me cringe to think that she'd had Edward first, and she'd been throwing it in my face all this time. I think part of me was pretty sure that they had slept together all along. Knowing it came with a feeling I wasn't prepared for.

I was breathing, heavily in fact, but I felt like my lungs couldn't get enough air. I wanted to shove Edward's words right back at him and make him take them back; make him make them untrue. I didn't want my hubby-candy to be tainted by Rosalie. That thought made me angry, for reasons I couldn't fully recognize. On a basic level, I felt possessive of him. But was that wrong? No. Of course it wasn't wrong. He was _my _husband, whether that be in a conventional sense or not didn't seem to matter. He was my person to have sex with. I didn't want to think of someone else that I couldn't stand utilizing him for the same purpose. He was _mine_.

I'd be lying if I said that part of me didn't automatically question if he'd had sex with her since we'd been married, but that just didn't make sense. He had just said himself, after all, that what had happened between them was in the past; before our arrangement. He'd also told me multiple times prior that he wouldn't jeopardize what he had to loose in this agreement by cheating, and I believed him. Therefore, I could only assume that this truly was in the past. But somehow, that didn't make me feel any better about it.

I was shaken from my thoughts by the chime on Edward's blackberry. He sighed as he snatched it out of his pocket and looked down at the screen. I couldn't help but wonder if it was her.

"My car is here for the airport. I have to go."

"Are you going to fuck her while you're there?"

I knew it was a stupid question, but I couldn't help myself.

He glared at me with cold, guarded, gleaming green eyes that made me swallow thickly.

"That question is undeserving of an answer, Isabella."

"Yeah, well, it was fucked up of you to watch me suffer through the ice queen's reign and not even let me know that I was getting railed by her sloppy seconds the whole time."

"Right, because you thought I was an untouched virgin, is that it?" He retorted as he slipped his phone in his pocket and picked up his wallet.

"Of course not. But I would have thought that you would tell me about _her. _I would tell you if you had to associate with someone who _I_ had fucked around with."

"Really, Isabella, how many times do I have to tell you that this crude language is unbecoming on you?"

"Is she the one?"

"The one what?"

"The woman that you were in love with. You told me the first time we played twenty questions that you've been in love. Was it Rosalie?"

He stared at me for a long moment before looking down at the ground, shaking his head.

"I can't talk about this right now, Isabella. I have to go. The car is waiting."

I scoffed and shook my head at him, hopping off the bed to go find my cigarettes.

"Have a great time in New York, Edward." I said as I shoved past him.

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That night, I took out my frustrations at the club with Emmett and Holly. They could tell that something was bothering me, but I just brushed them off and assured them that it was nothing a few drinks couldn't fix. Thankfully, they were content enough with that answer to let it go without asking questions.

I wasn't entirely sure how Emmett felt about marijuana, so Holly and I opted to smoke _before_ he arrived. He met us at the house and we called a car service to pick us up so that we wouldn't have to worry about driving later on; thankfully so, because by the end of the night, we were fucking annihilated.

I didn't exactly remember going to sleep, but I was extremely aware of myself when I woke up the next morning. My head was pounding, my mouth was incredibly dry, and my neck hurt like a bitch. It took me a minute to realize what had awoken me before I registered the sound of my cell phone ringing. It sounded muffled, but I could feel it vibrating. I reached around in search of it, but instead my hand came into contact with an arm.

I groaned and opened my eyes see Holly's long blonde locks splayed out in front of me. Further assessment of the situation enlightened me that we were laying on my fully made bed with a quilt draped over us. The sound of my phone sounded like it was coming from underneath her, so I suspected she was laying on it.

"Holl, you're on my phone." I rasped, nudging her.

She groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, revealing my phone that apparently had been under her ass. I sighed as I picked it up, sliding my finger across the screen to answer as I closed my eyes again.

"…Hello?" I answered, my voice still low and croaky.

"Morning sunshine!"

I cringed and cracked my eyes open just enough to see the screen as I held the phone out, wanting to see who I was so speaking to and figure out why the hell they sounded so perky.

Alice.

Alice?

_Why the hell is Alice calling me so damn early_?

"Bella? Are you there? You're not still sleeping are you?"

_Fuck._

"No, I'm not sleeping." I insisted, bolting up to sit up in the bed.

"Did you forget about breakfast?"

"No, no, I didn't forget."

I had totally forgotten. I'd made plans last week to have breakfast with Alice, and I totally fucking spaced.

Since Christmas, things had better with Alice. They weren't perfect, but as long as progress was being made, I was all in as far as continuing to try with her was concerned. She was still being a complete bitch to Edward, but I had decided to try my best to just separate myself from that. Edward and I had talked about it, and he had assured me that he didn't expect me to allow her behavior towards him to interfere with the mending of our friendship. Edward genuinely wanted to see me fix things with Alice, so he had encouraged me to completely separate our friendship from their relationship as brother and sister. Whatever was going on between them was between them, and whatever was going on between us was between us. I wished that we could all get along, but I still had hope that would happen eventually. For now, I was just going to focus on me and her. I was grateful that Edward was supportive of that.

Back in the primetime of my friendship with Alice, when we were at our best, we literally hung out every day. We weren't even close to being back to that place yet, but the important thing was that an effort was being made on both of our parts. We weren't avoiding each other anymore. We both genuinely wanted to get back to where we once were, and that was everything.

"Well, I was just calling to see you if you wanted me to pick you up or if you wanted to meet at the restaurant."

"Um…I'll meet you there."

"Okay, well, I'm on my way."

_She's on her way? Shit._

"Okay, yeah, I'll meet you there." I answered hesitantly, tugging at my hair.

"Okay, see you soon."

I groaned loudly as I hung up my phone and pushed the quilt off of me. A glance at the time on my home screen told me that it was eight fifteen, which meant that I was due to meet Alice in fifteen minutes. I needed a cigarette in the _worst_ fucking way, but clearly I didn't have time for that. I barely even had time to pee, which I was also in great need of doing.

I tossed my phone down on the bed and crawled across the mattress to hop off the end and run into the bathroom. I had my sights set on the toilet to relieve myself, but something else caught my eye before I could get there.

Emmett. In my bathtub, sleeping…_snoring_.

"What the fuck…?" I muttered under my breath.

I shook my head and trudged on to the toilet, because I had no time to deal with Emmett. I shut the door behind me and sat down to do my business as fast as humanly possible. When I was finished I went to brush my teeth and, catching the first sight of myself in the mirror, I cringed. I looked like ass. My hair was knotted, my makeup was a smeared all over the place, and my eyes were bloodshot. I was a hot fucking mess.

"Fuck me…" I groaned as I grabbed my toothbrush and ran it under the faucet.

I brushed my teeth as quickly as I could and then scrubbed my face clean as best as I could manage. I still had some faded black smudges around my eyes from my eyeliner, but given my time constraints, it was the best I could do. I darted into my closet next and stripped off my dress from the night before, as well as my bra and panties. I didn't have time to shower, so I at least wanted some clean underwear. I threw on the first pair of clean panties and jeans and saw and then, without bothering to put anything under it, shrugged on a navy blue zip-up sweatshirt. My black converse were the cherry on top to complete an outfit that Edward would undoubtedly be horrified to see me in, but luckily for me, he was across the country.

I barely had time to put on deodorant and shove my Ray-Bans on my face. As I scurried down the stairs, leaving Emmett and Holly asleep why they were, I said a little silent prayer to whoever may be listening that I wouldn't keep Alice waiting _too _long. Her mood was so unpredictable these days that I found myself walking on eggshells around her. It was a sad truth, but I was desperate to stay on her good side. I wanted the progress to continue. Therefore, I was incredibly relieved that when I got to the restaurant, I found Alice waiting patiently with a smile on her face.

Lucky for me, she was sitting outside on the patio. That way I could keep my sunglasses on and maybe have hope of not looking like a complete pile of shit.

"Hi…Bella…" She greeted me as I approached, looking surprised at my appearance.

Ironically, I probably looked much more like my old self than she'd seen in a long time. I think she had just been started to get used to my fancy clothes and carefully styled hair.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late…" I sighed.

"It's alright, I wasn't waiting very long."

She stood up to hug me and then we both took our seats at the table. Apparently she'd already ordered me a cup of coffee, and I was all over it as soon as I noticed it sitting in front of me.

We ordered our food and made some meaningless small talk for a while. We talked about school as long as the conversation could take us and then I asked about how things were going between her and Jasper, mostly just to keep any type of conversation going. It was slightly awkward, yet much better than it had been in a quite a while. Still, by the time her fruit salad and my stack of pancakes came, I was grateful to have something in front of me to distract from the awkward silences in the conversation.

"Thank you for coming, Bella." She said randomly as I smothered my fluffy pancakes in syrup.

"Why wouldn't I have come?" I asked, looking up at her questioningly.

"You forget how well I know you. I can tell you had a rough night last night. And I know that you were still asleep when I called. But I'm glad that you came anyway. It means a lot."

I smiled sheepishly. I suppose it _would _be rather obvious that I was a little hung over.

"I guess I went a little crazier last night than I'd planned on. I was…working off some tension, I guess."

"Oh? Were you upset about something?" She asked, stabbing a strawberry and popping it into her mouth.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"You went out with Emmett, right?"

I glanced up at her, trying to decipher her expression. I didn't know that she knew I was with her brother. Would she be mad that I didn't invite her? She didn't look mad, but Alice was hard to read nowadays.

"Yeah, we went out with one of my other friends."

I certainly wasn't going to mention that person's name in front of Alice. I'd definitely learned by now that it was best to not bring up Holly's name around her. Sure, it was ridiculous that Alice had such disdain for someone she didn't even know, but I was all about keeping the peace at this point.

"I'm glad that you and Emmett have gotten so close." She answered, seemingly sincere about it. "I just wish that had happened sooner so that all three of us could have been hanging out."

"We can all three still hang out now, Alice." I retorted quickly.

"Yeah, I suppose. I just meant that I wish you two had been this close back before things were so…_complicated_."

I knew that Alice had always been much closer to Emmett than Edward, but it was still extremely tempting to ask why she couldn't feel that way about both of us hanging out with her other brother as well.

"Well, we should make plans…just the three of us."

"I'd like that." She smiled up at me before looking back down to sift through her bowl of fruit.

"Me too."

"So what were you upset about?"

"Huh?"

"You said that you were upset about something last night. What was bothering you?"

"Oh, that..." I sighed and took another swig of coffee. "…I don't think you want to know."

"Why?"

"Because it concerns something that I happen to know that you don't want to know about. Or…some_one_, I guess I should say."

"Edward?"

"Yeah."

"You had a fight with him?"

"Not a fight, exactly. But still, I know that you don't want to hear about it. So let's talk about something else."

"Hmm…" She looked at me thoughtfully, and then smirked.

"What?"

"Maybe I wouldn't be opposed to talking about Edward in a _negative _way."

I stared at her blankly for a moment, not really sure what to say, because that seemed a little fucked up.

"I'm not going to talk about him negatively just because we had a disagreement, Alice."

I think she recognized the slight defensiveness in my tone, because she looked a little sheepish.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to imply that. I was just trying to make light of the situation. I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"No, it's okay." I said dismissively, just wanting to avoid any type of confrontation. "I know."

There was a long moment of silence as we both continued eating.

"You know, Bella," She spoke eventually. "I don't want you to be afraid to speak about Edward around me." I opened my mouth to respond to that but she continued without giving me a chance. "I know that I said I don't want to hear about him, but he _is _your husband. I've realized that if I want to be your best friend again, there shouldn't be anything that you can't talk to me about."

I just looked at her for a long moment, not entirely sure if I believed her.

"So you're suddenly cool talking about Edward now?"

"Well, I'm not saying I want to hear all of the lovey dovey details of your relationship, but I'm not ignorant to the fact that he's a huge part of your life. If I want to be the big part of your life that I used to be too, then I'm going to have to learn how to coexist with him."

"Alice, its fine. We had a solid friendship before Edward was part of my life, and there shouldn't be a reason that we can't go back to that."

"I'm not sure we can go back to that, Bella. Edward _is _part of your life now. I don't think it's healthy to ignore that."

I gaped at her, wondering if this was too good to be true…because it definitely felt that way. Was it possible that Alice could really feel that way about the situation with Edward? Was she _really_ ready to finally move on from this?

"Do you really mean that? You're really willing to let the Edward thing go and move past it?"

"I'm willing to try."

"So does that mean you're going to be nice to him now?"

"Baby steps, Bella." She laughed.

"I still don't understand why you're willing to be my friend, but you still ignore him like the plague."

She looked at me for a long moment before finally shaking her head with a sigh.

"I could try to explain it to you, but I don't think I quite know how to put it into words."

"Alright."

I didn't want to talk about that anyways. Her double standard towards me versus Edward was an elephant in the room that I was still willing to avoid.

"So tell me what's going on then. What did you two argue about?"

I hesitated, staring down at my pancakes. For so long now I'd been walking on eggshells around Alice about this. I'd trained myself to avoid Edward's name in conversation. Now she wanted me to open up about my relationship problems with him.

"I guess this is the beginning of those baby steps you're talking about?"

"Exactly!" She laughed, sipping at her coffee. "I think this is a good place to start."

I decided to just take a leap of faith. If she wanted to hear about my Edward problems, then fuck it. I would tell the girl about my Edward problems.

"Do you know anything about Rosalie?" I asked, actually seeing a glimmer of hope here.

Maybe this was just perfectly timing for opportunity. Maybe Alice could actually give me some insight on the situation, since I definitely wasn't getting _any _from her brother. She might actually know something.

"Who?"

_Or not_.

"Rosalie Hale. She works with Edward…or something like that. They do business or whatever."

"Oh, right. That tall, really pretty blonde?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "…her."

"Okay, yeah, I know who you're talking about. What about her?"

"Have she and Edward, like, dated?"

She laughed, and then shrugged.

"Not that I know of, but I seriously doubt that I would know if they had. I'm not exactly…involved in Edward's personal life."

"I know, but I mean, he's never brought her around the family or anything?"

"Nope." She answered, shaking her head. "I've only even seen her a handful of times, most of which have been since you two have been together."

I sighed, feeling that small glimmer of hope slip away. Apparently she didn't know anything after all.

"Right…"

"Why? You two were fighting about her?"

"Not fighting, I just…" Now that I thought about it, I didn't know how to explain myself for bringing Rosalie up. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. "…I just don't like her."

"Is she close to Edward? The few times I have seen her, they've seemed very…friendly."

_Exactly my problem._

"Yeah, they're close." I sighed. "I mean, they're good friends."

"And why don't you like her?"

"Because she's a fucking bitch." I laughed.

Alice started laughing with me, and I found that our mutual giggles actually lightened the mood a little.

"Yeah, she kind of looks like a bitch." She agreed.

"Edward's in New York with her right now and I didn't know that she was going to be there until the last minute, so it just kind of annoyed me."

"I can see how that would bother you." She nodded. "Jazz has a couple of female friends that I'm not fond of either. It's annoying, even though I know they're just friends. I don't think _they _feel that way. I hate seeing other girls flirt with him, even if he's not reciprocating."

"I just have a feeling that there may be a history between them, so I thought you might know if they've dated or whatever."

"Well, he _is _your husband. You should know his dating history better than I do."

_Touché._

"Yeah, I know, but still…you've been around longer than me."

"Well, I don't know anything about her. But maybe you should ask Emmett. He's much closer to Edward than I am."

"Hmm, yeah, I hadn't thought of that. I'll ask him."

When it was all said and done, I deemed breakfast as a success. When it came to Alice, I tried to keep myself thinking in terms of baby steps. We were getting there. I just had to be patient.

I paid for our meal, which was nice to be able to do after all of the tabs she had picked up in my pre-Edward life. Before going our separate ways, we agreed to try to hang out with Emmett soon and I told her I'd call her.

As I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed that I had two missed calls. One was from my father, and one was from Edward. Obviously, my dad was more important. So I called him back over the speakers in my car on the way home.

"Hey, kiddo." He answered just before the voicemail picked up.

"Hey, old man. What are you up to?"

"Oh, just gettin' ready to go do some grocery shopping."

"Oh yeah? You out of hot dogs and beer?"

"Pretty much." He chuckled. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nah, I was having breakfast with Alice."

"Oh, that's great, kid. You two are getting along?"

"Yeah, we're doing better."

"Glad to hear it."

"Yeah, I'm happy about it."

"Well, listen, I was actually calling to see about maybe coming up there to see you next weekend."

"Really? That would be awesome!"

"Yeah, well, you've been coming to see me a lot lately. I thought maybe I'd do the leg work for a change."

True, I'd been going home to see my dad much more often since Christmas, but I didn't mind. The drive was worth hanging out with him, and I enjoyed being home once in a while.

"That'd be cool. I don't have anything going on so it's good timing."

"Good. I can hear that you're in the car, so I'm gonna let you go. You know I don't like you on the phone while you drive."

"Kay, talk to you later?"

"Sure, later kid."

"Bye, dad, love you."

"Love ya too, hun."

I hung up with a smile on my face, excited to see my dad soon. But then Edward was calling again, and my smile was fading.

I sighed and pressed the green button on the screen of my car.

"Hello?"

"Are you still angry with me?"

"What do you want, Edward?"

"I'm surprised you're awake so early. Didn't you go out last night?"

"Yeah, but I had breakfast plans with your sister."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing. Did you convince Emmett to stay the night with you?"

"I didn't have to _convince _him. He passed out in the bathtub."

"In our bathtub?"

"Yeah."

"Classy."

"Yup."

"Well, at least he stayed. I told you that you don't need a dog."

"No, I still want a dog."

I could hear him sigh, which made me smile.

"Did Emmett join you and Alice for breakfast?"

"No, he's probably still in the bathtub."

"You left him there?"

"Well, yeah, I didn't want to wake them."

"Them?"

"Oh, Holly was there too."

"In the bathtub?"

"No, in our bed."

"Holly slept in our bed?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I don't really remember actually going to sleep, but I woke up next to her."

"So, you woke up in our bed with Holly…and you don't remember going to sleep?"

"Right."

"I see."

There was a somewhat tense silence that followed and I just knew what he would be thinking. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"Wipe that smirk that I know you have right off your face, Mr. Cullen. There was no girl on girl action, nor will there ever be."

"How do you know, if you don't remember?" He teased.

"Why did you call, Edward?" I asked, shaking my head. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see if you were still upset with me."

"Why do you care?"

"Why would I not care? I don't want you to be angry with me, Isabella."

"You're not sharing a room with her, are you?"

"With Rosalie?"

"No, my Grandma" I sighed. "Yes, Rosalie. Who else would I be talking about?"

"Of course I'm not sharing a room with her. I promised you monogamy when I married you, Isabella. Honestly, what kind of man do you think I am?"

"The kind of man who fucks the bitchiest woman I've ever met and then sits back and watches her torment his wife while he says nothing to clue her in and what's _really _going on."

"But there's nothing going on. You keep ignoring that."

I scowled at the road ahead of me, saying nothing because I simply had nothing to say. Edward and I would just have to agree to disagree. He was never going to understand why all of this bothered me so much. In truth, I myself didn't even fully understand why it bothered me so much. I just knew that I felt what I felt, and what I felt sucked.

"I miss you." Edward said quietly, disrupting the silence after a few long moments.

I was still annoyed with him, but I couldn't help the small smile that touched my lips despite myself.

"Yeah? I thought you'd be enjoying a break from me."

"It's funny. I used to value sleeping alone every night."

"And now?"

"And now it's far too quiet without the sound of you breathing next to me."

I felt my smile fade as his words evoked a strange sensation in my chest that I wasn't familiar with. I had to change the subject.

"My dad is coming into town next weekend. Will you be around?"

There was silence for a long moment.

"Yes. I'll ask Cecilia to prepare the guest room for him."

"Okay."

More uncomfortable silence followed.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be in late."

"Okay. Well, bye."

He hung up without saying anything else, and I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat with a huff.

.

.

.

.

I was asleep the next night when Edward got home. The light from the bathroom and the sound of running water woke me. I tried to just go back to sleep, but I had to pee and my bladder was hard to ignore.

I threw the covers off with a sigh and shuffled into the bathroom, where Edward was showering.

"Did I wake you?" He asked from behind the glass.

"No, I'm fucking sleep walking." I snapped without looking at him.

He chuckled that infuriatingly arrogant chuckle of his and I rolled my eyes as I made my way into the toilet area and shut the door. While doing my business I heard the water shut off and I sighed. I was hoping he would stay in there long enough that I could get in and out and go back to sleep before I had to deal with him.

When I opened the door and walked out, Edward was standing at his sink brushing his teeth. Without saying a word, I went over to mine to wash my hands.

"Still upset with me then?" Edward asked after he'd finished up and put his toothbrush away.

I shrugged, keeping my eyes fixed down on the water splashing over my hands. I was aware of him moving beside me, and then suddenly he was behind me and placing his hands on my hips just as I turned the faucet off.

"Edward, I really ju-"

I was about to tell him to leave me alone and just let me go back to sleep, but then I made the mistake of glancing up into the mirror and finding those emerald green eyes watching me. They shimmered with beauty, just as the always did. The allure of his mystique illuminated in them.

I realized I was smiling.

"There's that pretty smile you always try to hide from me."

He turned his hands to coax me to turn around to face him, and I gave in all too easily. I loathed the way that I couldn't seem to stay mad at this man.

"So did you at least bring me a souvenir from your vacation with Rosalie?" I asked like a total brat as I lifted my arms around his neck.

"Stop it. It was work and you know it."

"Whatever."

"However, speaking of souvenirs…I did bring you a little something."

"You did?"

"Mhm. Wait here."

I unwound my arms from his neck and watched him disappear into his closet. Curious, I followed him, and found him rummaging around in his suitcase.

"Let me guess. Is it one of those cheesy 'I heart N Y' T shirts?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but no. Now close your eyes."

I laughed and shut my eyes, leaning against the door frame.

"Alright, they're closed."

I heard his footsteps as he approached and I could tell he was standing in front of me.

"Open."

I opened my eyes to find him standing there with a smile on his face, holding an open jewelry box. Inside was more diamonds than I'd ever seen in one place, put together neatly in the form of a stunning necklace. I gasped, mesmerized by the glimmering of the light catching in every which way off of each different stone. The thought of how much money something like that must cost made my mouth dry.

"Is it…real?"

"Of course it's _real_." He responded, sounding insulted.

"I'm sorry, I just…I've never seen anything like it."

"Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding? It's…breathtaking."

"Let me put it on you."

I gathered my hair up off of my neck as I turned around. Edward wrapped his arms around me to loop the necklace around me and then fastened it in the back. I walked back over to the mirror and gazed at my reflection. It was strange. The diamonds seemed misplaced around my neck. I wasn't the kind of girl that should be wearing them. Surely they belonged on some Hollywood starlet. I was reminded of Rosalie's words from the party at Christmas.

_Stop trying so hard to act like you belong in this world._

"You're frowning." Edward commented from beside me. "You don't like it?"

I shook my head, trying to smile.

"No, it's not that. But you really didn't have to do this, Edward…"

"I know." He stepped closer to me and leaned back against the counter. "But I wanted to. I felt bad. I should have told you about Rosalie sooner."

The silence was a bit awkward as I continued to stare at` my reflection and he continued to stare at me. Eventually, my eyes shifted over to look at him. I wanted to ask more about Rosalie, but just as I opened my mouth to do so, our night took a turn for the crazy.

Even from our position standing in the bathroom, we could both hear the distinct sound of tires screeching _loudly _outside in front of the house.

"What the hell was that?" I said as Edward briskly walked past me to go investigate.

I followed behind him as he walked back out into the bedroom and over to the windows. As soon as he caught a glimpse of outside his whole demeanor changed.

"What the fuck!" He yelled before taking off in a full out run out of the room.

I scurried over to the window, wanting to see what had made him freak out like that. My eyes widened at what I saw. Edward's Mercedes was trashed.

"Holy shit…" I breathed and went to throw my robe on before I took off running after Edward.

I ran down the stairs, through the house, and out the front door. Edward was circling around the car, surveying the damage. I stopped in my tracks and just stood there staring, trying to process what I was seeing. It was horrible. All of the windows and the windshield were all knocked out, tiny pieces of glass strewn about everywhere. The headlights were smashed as well and all four tires were slashed. But there was something else that I noticed before any of that.

Music.

There was music blaring from inside of the car; a snippet of a Kanye West song I recognized playing on repeat.

_Now I ain't sayin' she's a gold digger_

_But she ain't messin' with no broke niggas_

_Now I ain't sayin' she's a gold digger_

_But she ain't messin' with no broke niggas_

Someone had apparently edited that part of the song out and somehow put it on a C.D. to play over and over again.

The scene before me made bile rise in my throat. Who would do something like this to Edward's car?

I don't know how long we stood there staring at the car, but it felt like hours. I felt sick, and I could practically feel the anger radiating off of Edward. My mind was racing with thoughts, trying to figure out who could have done this, but felt blank at the same time.

"Edward…" I called over to him as a thought struck me. "Someone had your key."

"What?" He asked distractedly, looking over at me.

"The car is playing music. That means it's on. Did you leave your key in the car?"

"No."

He walked purposely over to the car and pulled the driver side door open, but then he stopped and just stood there staring into the car blankly.

"What is it?" I asked.

He didn't answer me, so I went over to him to see for myself. I walked up beside him and gasped. Inside the car, completely covering the floorboards, were hundreds of _Sugar Daddy_ candies.

"Apparently someone is trying to send a message…" I observed.

"Apparently." Edward agreed.

"The key is in the cup holder." I pointed out as I noticed it.

The Mercedes was push to start like my car, so there was no ignition. The key simply needed to be in the car, and there it was. The question was, how did it get there?

"The front door was open." Edward said unexpectedly.

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"When I came downstairs the front door was open."

I glanced over my shoulder back at the house.

"Do you think someone is in the house?"

"I would if it weren't for the screeching tires. Someone drove away."

"Then why was the door open?"

"Because they needed the key." He answered as he quickly made his way back towards the house.

"Where did you leave it?" I asked as I followed him.

"It's upstairs. But my spare key…"

He walked inside and down the hall towards his office, me following right along behind him. I watched him go to his desk and yank open the bottom drawer.

"…is gone."

"Who knew that it was there? I didn't even know the spare key was there."

"The spare keys to all of the cars are." He answered as he plopped down into his chair with a huff. "At least, they were."

"But who else knew that?" I asked again.

"I don't know." He sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. "I mean, nobody I can think of. I don't know why I would mention it to anyone."

"Rosalie?" I suggested.

He made a look of disgust as he stood up.

"Come the fuck off of it already, Bella. I know that you want Rosalie to be some awful and vindictive person, but she's not. She didn't do this."

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Well then who the hell did, Edward? Obviously this is personal. Someone has a very distinct message they want to send."

His expression changed then. His frustration with me luckily seemed to go just as quickly as it came, and instead he just looked troubled.

"A distinct message indeed."


End file.
